The publication is reproduced in full below:
IN REMEMBRANCE OF DON MOTAKA
______
HON. LORI TRAHAN
of massachusetts
in the house of representatives
Monday, February 22, 2021
Mrs. TRAHAN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to mark the passing of my friend, Don Motaka. Today, would have been his 69th birthday.
Don was truly one of a kind and he made an impression on everyone he met. I will always remember his quick wit, huge heart, irreverent sense of humor, and booming laugh. He was not someone that could be easily overlooked, as his positive energy could take over a room.
Unfortunately, Don died suddenly on December 21, 2020 in Oxford, Michigan of complications unrelated to COVID.
I had the honor of getting to know Don when we worked together as congressional staffers in the mid-1990s. Don was not your typical staff member, as his personal and professional life had taken him on a wondering and diverse journey by the time he made his way to Capitol Hill.
A native of Gettysburg, PA, his teenage years were marked by instability that resulted in Don being taken in and cared for by members of St. James Lutheran Church. In spite of those challenges, Don excelled as a student and went on to graduate from the University of Pennsylvania and Yale Divinity School.
After graduating from Yale Divinity School, Don served as Pastor to two rural churches before leaving to lead Tabernacle Lutheran Church in West Philadelphia, a challenging assignment that left him looking for other ways to serve people. He held many different jobs during that time, including serving as a congressional aide to U.S. Representative Marty Meehan, where we met.
In 2013, Don returned to the ministry to become a monk at St. Augustine's House Lutheran Monastery, the only Lutheran Monastery in North America. Upon becoming a simple professed monk in 2015, he took the name Father Jude--who is known as the patron saint of desperate cases and lost causes. At the monastery, he spent his time listening for God and regularly preaching at Sunday Mass. He also dedicated many hours to working in a woodworking shop he created at the monastery.
He is missed by his mother, Almena Motaka, his brothers at the monastery, and his sudden passing has impacted many who loved him and referred to him affectionately as ``Uncle Don,'' including Rev. Edward Keyser and his family, Rev. Fritz Foltz and Faith Foltz and family, Joe Moore and his family, and David Schildknecht and his family.
Don was passionate about politics and was a dedicated Democrat who loved this country and followed in great detail the twists and turns of public policy debates held in Congress. Like many, Don was troubled by what had happened to our country over the past four years and was overjoyed by the results of the election in November.
During my first campaign for Congress, Don was a voice of encouragement from the very beginning, and his daily prayers for me from the monastery were a source of comfort and strength. While it was many years ago that I last saw Don, I can still see his smile and feel the warmth of his personality like it was yesterday. I am grateful to have crossed paths with him and I hope his memory is a blessing to all who had the privilege of knowing him.
____________________
SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 33
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