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“REMEMBERING WALTER SHORENSTEIN” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Commerce was published in the Senate section on pages S5738-S5739 on July 12, 2010.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
REMEMBERING WALTER SHORENSTEIN
Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, it is with a heavy heart that I ask my colleagues to join me today in honoring the memory of an extraordinary real estate investor, philanthropist, Presidential adviser, civic leader and dear friend of mine, Walter Shorenstein. Walter passed away on June 24, 2010. He was 95 years old. Walter's legendary entrepreneurship and civic involvement will benefit future generations of Americans for decades to come.
Walter Herbert Shorenstein was born into a hard-working middle class family in Glen Cove, New York on February 23, 1915. He briefly attended the University of Pennsylvania before cutting his undergraduate studies short in order to serve his country in World War II. During the war, Walter was stationed in North Africa, where he managed logistics and resources for troops in Africa, Asia, and Europe. Walter met his future wife Phyllis while serving as a major at Travis Air Force Base in California. They were married in 1945, and Walter began his real estate career upon moving to San Francisco in 1946.
Walter joined the commercial real estate firm, Milton Meyer & Company, and became its only partner in 1951. He later purchased the company and in 1960, began rapidly expanding its holdings over the next three decades. At various times, the company, which was renamed Shorenstein Co. in 1989, has owned numerous notable buildings including the Bank of America Tower in San Francisco, the John Hancock Center in Chicago, and the Washington Harbour Complex in Washington, DC. The Shorenstein Co., under the leadership of Walter's son, Douglas, currently controls roughly 30 million square feet of commercial real estate nationwide.
In addition to his exemplary business savvy, Walter was recognized for his sharp intuition and diplomacy skills, and ultimately served as an adviser to three Presidents. President Lyndon Johnson appointed him to serve as an adviser on trade negotiations. President Jimmy Carter appointed Walter to the U.S. delegation that led peace talks between Israel and Egypt in 1978, and to the Committee for the Preservation of the White House. During the Clinton administration, Walter was appointed to serve on the board of directors of the Corporation for National Service and the U.S. Commerce Department Industry Policy Advisory Committee. In 1999, President Clinton presented Walter with the Democratic National Committee's Lifetime Achievement Award for his active service and commitment to the Democratic Party.
Later in life, Walter began donating both his time and money to laudable civic efforts. In 1975, he led a group that placed 2,000 Vietnamese orphans in loving homes in the United States. In 1993, he played a pivotal role in preventing the San Francisco Giants from moving to Florida. A lifelong advocate for education, Walter contributed heavily to several prestigious educational programs and institutes. Along with his wife, he founded the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, named for his talented daughter who lost her life to cancer in 1985. Walter also funded programs at Stanford University's Asia-Pacific Research Center and the Institute of East Asian Studies at the University of California, Berkeley.
Walter stood out as a driven entrepreneur who cared deeply for his community. He will be remembered by his friends and colleagues not only for his business savvy, but also for his tremendous sense of civic responsibility. His vision and hard work greatly shaped and influenced the city of San Francisco, and his civic contributions and leadership skills improved our Nation.
Walter is survived by his son Douglas; his daughter Carole Shorenstein Hays; and his six grandchildren. My thoughts are with Walter's family at this difficult time.
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