The following is a press release from the office of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton:

April 28, 2010

WASHINGTON, DC- Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today introduced a resolution, along with Congresswoman Donna Edwards (D-MD-04) as an original co-sponsor, to honor the lives of Joseph Curseen, Jr. and Thomas Morris, Jr. with a commemorative stamp issued by the United States Postal Service.  Both men died in the anthrax attack at the Brentwood Post Office in the District, now named in their honor.  “These two men, born and raised in the District, dedicated their combined 52 years of service to their country and to the United States Postal Service as committed employees,” Norton said.  “A commemorative stamp, not only will honor the memory of their service and sacrifice, but will also remind Americans of the work and diligence of all of those who protect the American people and the homeland.”  The two men, who resided in Congresswoman Donna Edwards’ congressional district, are eligible for stamp commemoration, because the five-year time period since their deaths has passed.”

Norton’s statement on the resolution is attached.

REMARKS OF

CONGRESSWOMAN ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

ON THE INTRODUCTION OF THE

Anthrax Attack Commemorative Stamp Resolution

April 28, 2010
Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, today I introduce a resolution directing the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee to recommend to the Postmaster General that a commemorative stamp be issued to honor the lives of Joseph Curseen, Jr. and Thomas Morris, Jr., the two United States Postal Service (USPS) workers, and District of Columbia natives, who died as a result of their exposure to anthrax while working at the USPS facility located at 900 Brentwood Road, NE, Washington, D.C., during the 2001 anthrax attack.  This commemorative stamp meets the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee’s requirement that no postal item may be issued sooner than five years after an individual’s death.

Joseph Curseen, Jr. and Thomas Morris, Jr. served the USPS honorably and diligently for a combined period of 52 years until their deaths on October 22, 2001, and October 21, 2001, respectively.  Curseen, remembered as a quiet man with a fuzzy mustache, loved to tell stories and loved his church.  He was so dedicated to his work, that during the 15 years that he worked for the USPS, he never called in sick.  His co-workers described him as someone who was kind and courteous, who stayed at the Post Office seven days a week, giving up breaks to get the mail out, and who regularly led a postal worker Bible study group.  In his neighborhood of Cambridge Estates, Maryland, Curseen was the president of the homeowners association, an avid jogger, and a member of St. John the Evangelist Church.  To his neighbors, Curseen was someone who everyone knew, who was friendly, and who worked quietly, but “really got things done.”  He helped build a playground and park in the Cambridge Estates area, even though he and his wife had no children.  Although Curseen lived in Clinton, Maryland, he grew up in Southeast D.C., where Our Lady of Perpetual Help Roman Catholic Church was his childhood parish and school.  Curseen’s wife, Celestine Willingham Curseen, to whom he was married for 16 years, described her late husband as a generous, kind, hard-working man who will be greatly missed. 

Thomas Morris, Jr. also grew up in the District of Columbia, although he and his family moved to Suitland, Maryland.  Before joining the USPS, Morris served in the United States Air Force.  Morris joined the USPC in 1973 and worked as a distribution clerk.  He was a hard worker who had no aversion to working overtime, a proud husband and father of one son and two stepchildren, as well as the president of a bowling league team.  To his neighbors, Morris was a quiet, thoughtful, deeply religious and humble man, who dispensed helpful, and often paternal, advice to his younger neighbors.  His wife, Mary, described him as true to others and to himself, as someone who was respectful and law-abiding.

Please join me in honoring the lives of these two men, who died serving their country, and in requesting a commemorative stamp in their memory.

I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.