Tribute to Irving B. Harris
Congressional
Record
Senate & House
[Congressional Record: September 29, 2004 (Senate)]
[Page
S9916-S9917]
TRIBUTE TO IRVING B. HARRIS
Mr.
DURBIN. Mr. President, last Saturday, on September 25, the city of Chicago, the
State of Illinois, and our Nation, lost a great man. Irving Harris died at the
age of 94 in the city of Chicago. He was my friend and my inspiration.
I
have been called on many times to give commencement speeches at colleges and
universities, medical schools and law schools. When I speak to the young
students about what they can make of their lives, I never fail to tell them the
story of Irving Harris and his life. It is a great story, and one that I would
like to share with my colleagues in the Senate.
Irving Harris was born and raised in Saint Paul, MN. He and his two
brothers were raised by a father, who was a merchant, and a mother who inspired
him and his two brothers, in their words, ``to always be No. 1 in your class.''
They listened carefully to their parents and they succeeded in almost
unimaginable ways.
The
two Harris brothers, Neison and Irving, joined a friend and started a company in
1946, the Toni Home Permanent Company. Within 2 years, Tony home permanents had
become so popular across the United States that they sold this company to
Gillette for $20 million. The year was 1948; $20 million was a huge sum of
money.
If
you followed his business career, Irving Harris went on to do many things--to be
the director of a mutual fund, to start another company in North Brook, IL, the
Pittway Corporation, which he ultimately sold for some $2 billion. Just those
facts and those stories alone tell you of the business success of Irving Harris.
But if you were to stop with those stories, you would not understand his
greatness, nor would you understand the real measure of this man.
Unlike some people who were given great gifts of wealth and skill and
then used them to make their own lives more comfortable, Irving Harris saw life
much differently. He was a man who was constantly looking for ways to help
others, particularly ways to help children. And for over 60 years, he took his
wealth and his business success and devoted it to helping other people in so
many different ways.
He
helped create the Yale Child Study Center at Yale University to honor his alma
mater but also to try to find ways to help children born in poverty have a full
and successful life.
He
provided the funds that launched the center for the University of Chicago's
Graduate School of Public Policy Studies, which bears his name, and the Erikson
Institute for Advanced Studies in Child Development.
Irving Harris believed that children, if given the right nurturing
experience and the right chance, could succeed. A lot of people believe that.
But he invested his money in that belief.
He
started the Ounce of Prevention Fund in the city of Chicago in the State of
Illinois to prove that point again. He was one of the early people pushing for
Head Start.
Let
me read to you what Irving Harris said in one of his books. The book is
entitled, ``Children in Jeopardy: Can We Break the Cycle of Poverty?''
Irving
Harris wrote in 1996, ``I believe that God's gift of brain potential is not
discriminatory.
``Kindergarten is much too late to worry if a child is ready to learn. We
must begin in the first days and weeks and months of life to get children ready
to learn.''
That was his passion and that was his belief. That fueled his life and
his interest.
The
many times that we would sit down and talk about policies, he would come back to
these points about how many wasted lives of children there are in America
because we didn't start soon enough and we didn't do well enough and we didn't
understand the complexity of the challenges facing these children.
So
this man so successful in business focused so much of his life and time on
children and helping them in so many different ways.
He
was certainly good at business--one of the best. But he took that success and he
took that money and tried to improve the lives of others.
His
philanthropy didn't end there. There is hardly a place you can turn in Chicago
without seeing Irving Harris's name or the name of his wife Joan. They left
their mark in our city as they left it in our Nation.
Joan, Irving Harris's wife of 30 years, whom I met just the other day,
recounted her frustration when she was trying to build a new theater in downtown
Chicago for music and dance to make it part of Mayor Daley's hugely successful
Millennium Park. She turned to Irving one day and said: I just think we are
going to have to give up. I don't think I can come up with money to build the
theater.
I
will not quote him exactly, but Irving basically said: I feel like that myself,
and I don't think I am ever going to get the promised land. We are going to do
it.
He
told Joan they were going to do it, and they did. They made a massive investment
in that theater--some $39 million of the $52 million price tag to build that
theater. That theater is going to endure in his name and in the name of Joan
Harris. It is going to entertain, and it is going to remind a lot of people of
the good in culture, in music, in art that really lifts us all.
They did the same thing, incidentally, in Aspen, CO. If you go to Aspen,
CO, where they used to spend some time, they decided they needed a special
place--an outdoor gathering place for music festivals--you will find that Harris
music gathering place, the Harris Music Center, just another part of his legacy.
The
University of Chicago President, Don Michael Randel, called Mr. Harris ``one of
those extraordinary and too-rare individuals whose passion and humanity made a
real difference in the lives of others.''
Mr.
Randel said: Because of his foresight and his generosity, countless
disadvantaged children have been able to fulfill their potential and to become
productive citizens. And many of the most fundamental social problems suffered
by children and families now have some hope of resolution thanks to the research
he has so generously supported.
In
addition to his wife Joan, Irving Harris is survived by his daughters, Virginia
Polsky and Roxanne Frank; a son Bill, who is a close friend as well, a person
who has devoted his life to many important causes such as the global AIDS
epidemic and children's causes; a stepdaughter, Louise Frank; stepsons, Daniel
and Jonathan Frank; a sister, June Barrows; 10 grandchildren and 26
great-grandchildren. His legacy goes beyond his family.
His
legacy will be realized by others for generations to come. Irving Harris's life
will not be measured in the number of dollars he earned but the number of lives
that he touched, not in the assets he accumulated but in the fact that he was
such an asset to Chicago and to America. The pillars of American business know
of his success, but Irving Harris was a pillar of strength and hope for the
poor, and in that effort he made his life a model for us all.
It
is my good fortune in this business to meet many people and to meet many
wonderful people. I count on one hand the most amazing people I have ever met,
and Irving Harris will be in that number. I will miss Irving Harris, but I am
grateful to have known him and to Be inspired by his lifetime of caring and
hope.
[Congressional Record: September 28, 2004
(House)]
[Page H7585]
HONORING IRVING HARRIS
The
SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the order of the House of January 20, 2004, the
gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro) is recognized during morning hour
debates for 5 minutes.
Ms.
DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I rise to honor the extraordinary legacy of a dear
friend who passed away this past week. An advocate, philanthropist and leading
voice for children, Irving Harris left an indelible mark on our society.
Recognizing early on that the key to children's success lay in their most
formative years, birth through three. Inspiring, developing and supporting
scores of programs and organizations dedicated to improving the lives of
disadvantaged youngsters across the Nation, he founded the Erickson Institute, a
child development graduate school and the Ounce of Prevention Fund, a
public-private partnership that created and promoted community-based initiatives
to improve early childhood development.
He
also helped create and fund the Yale Child Study Center which is nationally
recognized as leaders in the field of children's trauma, addressing those
children who have been exposed to violence. Irving was also a leader in the
development of Zero to Three, the national center for infants, toddlers, and
families, whose work to support families and promote the healthy development of
babies and toddlers had a tremendous impact in communities across the Nation.
Irving's work rightly brought him national recognition as a leading voice for
children across the country.
Irving Harris was one of those rare individuals with roots in the world
of business and finance, who used his hard-won wealth and influence to help
others less fortunate. His work and his diligence and dedication was not only
remarkable but it was unceasing, a reflection of all that we strive to be. His
sincerity was marked by the principles he instilled in his own family, in his
children and grandchildren who today carry on his work on behalf of the other
children of America.
Through education, public policy development, grant making and advocacy,
Irving Harris' vision and leadership earned him recognition and many honors and
awards over the years. He served many organizations, including the National
Commission on Children and the Carnegie Corporations' New York task force on
meeting the needs of young children.
It
was for me personally an enormous privilege to work with Irving Harris over the
years, and working now with his son, Bill, and with his grandson, David. Irving
Harris knew that our young people represent the future and that we as a
community and a Nation must give them the tools that they need in order to
succeed. He recognized this simple fact many years ago and dedicated his life to
fulfilling that important goal.
I
say today, thank you, Irving, for the difference that you have made in this
country, and the millions of lives that you have made better through your
vision, your passion, and your generous spirit of mind. You have been an
inspiration to all of us.
Today my thoughts and my prayers and love are with the Harris family.