[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 14 (Monday, January 23, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S43]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                      Tribute to Donna Butt-Moore

  Madam President, on one final matter, over the recent State work 
period, my team unexpectedly lost a dear friend and longtime colleague, 
our Eastern Kentucky field assistant Donna Butt-Moore.
  Donna worked in my London, KY, field office for 14 years. She and her 
coworker, Donna McClure, ran their team as a dynamic duo. They were 
born only a month apart. They even shared the same initials. Back in 
Kentucky, they were known as just ``the Donnas.''
  And while Donna M. would travel around Eastern Kentucky, Donna B. was 
the rock that held down the fort at our office. She fielded calls. She 
greeted visitors. She solved Kentuckians' problems. Donna was endlessly 
patient, endlessly kind, and endlessly focused on helping constituents.
  She was sweet and sometimes quiet, more of a listener than a talker, 
and deeply empathetic. She was the kind of person who would come to the 
verge of tears almost daily after reading a news article or Facebook 
post about somebody in need. But woe to anybody who mistook Donna's big 
heart for any lack of determination. If Donna wanted something--if 
Eastern Kentucky needed something done--she made it happen. That is why 
condolence notes have poured into our office and to Donna's family from 
all over Eastern Kentucky--all from people she helped through her 
public service.

  Donna's work brought her into contact with important leaders, but I 
understand she was most excited when she had the opportunity once to 
snap a picture with Lee Greenwood. I understand another longtime dream 
was fulfilled just this last August, when her duties led Donna to ride 
on a Black Hawk helicopter with the Kentucky National Guard.
  After each year's busy August State work period, Donna would always 
take a vacation on the first day of September, not to kick up her heels 
and take a rest but to head out into the woods and hunt with her 
husband. This past year, she bagged a deer all by herself.
  Donna was the definition of Eastern Kentucky resourcefulness. If she 
heard you had some extra flowers lying around your house, she would 
swing by to gather them for a beautiful arrangement. If you had 
leftover meat in your freezer, she would want to cook it up and feed 
the whole neighborhood. In fact, she spent much of her time outside of 
the office catering parties for her friends and her neighbors.
  Donna and her beloved husband Doug met later in life--fewer than 10 
years ago. It was true love from the start, and Donna quickly became a 
doting grandma to Doug's grandkids. She loved her brothers, Bruce and 
Bub. She loved her nieces and nephews. She cherished having such a 
dynamic family so close to home and treasured any time they could spend 
together.
  Donna was also a woman of deep faith who looked to the Bible in every 
single aspect of her life. Her home and desk had signs containing just 
one word, ``Blessed.'' She savored every gift she received from the 
Lord, and her funeral service in London last week showed how Donna 
Butt-Moore was herself a blessing to everyone around her.
  Elaine and I and my entire staff were stunned and heartbroken to hear 
about Donna's passing. Friends, colleagues, and neighbors across 
Kentucky are grieving her loss. I am so grateful for her service to the 
people of our Commonwealth.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The senior Senator from Illinois.