[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 100 (Monday, June 15, 2026)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E578]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          HONORING LYNN ROMANS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. MORGAN McGARVEY

                              of kentucky

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, June 15, 2026

  Mr. McGARVEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Lynn Romans on the 
occasion of her 70th birthday and to recognize her lifetime of public 
service, personal sacrifice, and extraordinary devotion to others.
  Lynn grew up in Trimble County, Kentucky, a small rural community 
located between Louisville and Cincinnati. Her parents, lssac and 
Fredia Romans, provided for Lynn and her two brothers by working blue 
collar factory jobs. After graduating high school, she attended God's 
Bible School and College in Cincinnati, Ohio, where she earned a 
Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences. She and her husband went on to 
pastor churches across the Commonwealth, serving communities in 
Flemingsburg, Frankfort, Maysville, and Louisville, where they raised 
their two children.
  Lynn's life was forever changed in 2003 when her twenty-four-year-old 
son, Sergeant Darrin Potter, was killed in action while serving in 
Iraq, becoming the first Kentucky National Guard combat casualty since 
the Vietnam War. As a Gold Star Mother, Lynn has carried an 
unimaginable loss with grace, courage, and purpose. Because Lynn is a 
truly special human being, she turned sorrow into service, dedicating 
herself to helping other Gold Star families, veterans, servicemembers, 
and military families understand that they are seen, valued, and never 
alone.
  For more than 31 years, Lynn served with the American Red Cross, 
including as a Program Specialist for Service to the Armed Forces. She 
has also been deeply active with American Gold Star Mothers and the 
Woody Williams Foundation, educating others about the meaning of the 
Gold Star and the sacrifices it represents. You cannot attend a 
military event in Kentucky without meeting someone who knows Lynn--
someone she has helped, comforted, picnicked with, paraded with, or 
served alongside.
  For the past two years, Lynn has continued that service as a Green 
and Gold Fellow in our district office. At a time when she more than 
earned the right to be sipping sweet tea on a balmy beach and enjoying 
retirement, Lynn chose instead to work full time on behalf of Kentucky 
veterans and their families. VA casework is challenging, but Lynn 
always tackles it with her unending patience, warmth, bubbly humor 
and--of course--a great pair of high heels. Her signature expression, 
``Oh my lands'' has become an office favorite.
  Lynn is a proud Mimi to two beloved grandchildren, a woman of faith, 
a devoted public servant, and a gift to our Commonwealth and our 
country.
  We are honored to call her our colleague, and even more honored to 
call her our friend. I wish Lynn a happy 70th birthday.

                          ____________________