Friends,
I appreciated reading Lin’s obituary. However, in my opinion, it is
lacking in focusing on the fact that Lin was a long-time peace and justice
activist. Yes, she served the poor, but she also took on the Empire.
This is stated below: “Ms. Romano was later a worker at Epiphany Plowshares in
Philadelphia.” Somehow this got garbled.
In 1987,
Lin with Father Dexter Lanctot, Rev. Thomas
McGann and Greg Boertje went to The Willow Grove Naval Air Station, outside
Philadelphia, and engaged in a disarmament action against militarism and
nuclear weapons. They called themselves the Epiphany Plowshares, and
their message was to turn swords into plowshares. It would take four
trials to finally convict Lin, and she would serve more than two years in
prison. She opposed all of the wars, and was a frequent protester at the
Pentagon
Kagiso, Max
Lin Romano, counselor who worked for the poor and
trained unemployed women, dies
BALTIMORE SUN |
MAR 18, 2020 | 4:20 PM
Lin Romano
worked for the Govans Ecumenical Development Corp. on York Road for 22 years,
including serving as its chief operating officer.(Lin & David)
Lin Romano, a
counselor and neighborhood housing advocate who worked with the poor, died of
cancer Feb. 7 at Gilchrist Center Towson. The Chinquapin Park-area resident was
63.
Born in
Baltimore and raised in Little Italy, she was the daughter of Anthony “Tony”
Romano and his wife, Mary. She attended Mercy High School and was a 1973
graduate of Northern High School. She became a licensed clinical professional
counselor after she graduated from what is now Notre Dame of Maryland
University and Loyola University Maryland.
In an
autobiographical sketch, she said that at a young age she felt called to work
with people living in poverty and to challenge what she felt were “systems that
cause them to be poor.” During the Vietnam War and for 10 years after she was a
live-in volunteer at the Community for Creative Non-Violence in Washington,
D.C., where she worked with Mitch Snyder.
She helped run
a free health clinic, meal kitchens and shelters, including a medical
hospitality house for homeless people.
“She was was
an amazing woman whose life was dedicated to the pursuit of peace and justice,
personally, locally, nationally and internationally," said Missy Gugerty,
a member of the School Sisters of Notre Dame.
Lin Romano,
left, and Gigi Wirtz, center, celebrate during a Stadium Place Affordable
Housing project rally at Memorial Stadium in January 2011.(Kurt Fattic/Patuxent
Publishing)
Ms. Romano was
later a worker at Epiphany Plowshares in Philadelphia.
She moved to
Jonah House on the grounds of a West Baltimore cemetery. In her writing, she
described it as “a faith-based resistance community that also serves the
neighborhood with a food pantry, gardens, and outreach.”
Ms. Romano
then joined Baltimore’s Catholic Charities and among other duties served as a
caseworker at Christopher Place, then on Greenmount Avenue.
She moved to
the Govans Ecumenical Development Corp. on York Road. She served 22 years with
the organization and provided housing and supportive services for people with
special needs.
Among other
assignments, she helped with the planning and construction of Stadium Place on
the grounds of the old Memorial Stadium in the Waverly-Ednor Gardens area.
“Lin was the
backbone of GEDCO’s programs throughout her 22 years,” co-worker Julia Pierson
said. "She was hired in 1994 to operate Harford House, housing in the
Oliver neighborhood for men who had experienced homelessness. She built a
caring community where each man was given the healing space and time to examine
his life and develop positive goals.
Lin Romano,
left, chief operating officer of Govans Ecumenical Development Corp. (GEDCO),
and her husband, David Hoovler, stand during a memorial service for the Rev.
Jack Sharp, who founded GEDCO, at St. Matthew Catholic Church in Loch Raven in
September 2015. (Steve Ruark / For The Baltimore Sun Media Group)
“Making the
holidays special for GEDCO’s residents was very important to Lin. She
personally set the stage for legendary Thanksgiving dinners at Harford House,
Christmas lunch at Epiphany House, and enlisted dozens of volunteers to donate
Christmas gifts on residents’ wish lists — making sure each was wrapped with
care and love.”
Ms. Romano
became GEDCO’s program director and later its chief operating officer.
“She cared
about the most vulnerable, was tenacious and a perfectionist who didn’t give up
easily when the work got hard,” Ms. Pierson said.
Her last job
was career coordinator at Caroline Center in East Baltimore. She trained women
for jobs in health care.
“She was a
passionate advocate, providing job readiness skills to women of Baltimore
City,” said Holly Knipp, a co-worker at Caroline Center. “She assisted them in
securing positions with good potential for advancement. She loved her job; she
often said that she learned at least as much from the women as they did from
her. Lin was energetic and a force of nature.
"The
women emerged from her guidance with confidence in themselves and in their
abilities. Lin believed in the women even when sometimes their own belief
faltered. On one occasion, Lin was concerned that an alumna stopped contact
with her because she was discouraged. Lin went to her house, provided a pep
talk, and offered the necessary encouragement to motivate her to try again.
That alumna soon gained successful employment."
Lin Romano,
center, of Architects Row, a Waverly Main Street board member, hands out
popcorn to Joe Wesolowski, left, of Upper Fells Point, Caitlin Hansen, second
from left, of Fulton, Emily Jenkins, fourth from left, of Charles Village, and
Mike Suica, right, of Charles Village, during the Pigskins and Pints event at
Peabody Heights Brewery in Abell in September 2015.(Steve Ruark / Baltimore Sun
Media Group)
Ms. Romano
served on nonprofit boards, including the National Alliance on Mental Illness,
Waverly Main Street, the local Emergency Food and Shelter Program of FEMA, as
well as a Chinquapin Park-area neighborhood group.
She was a
member of the St. Peter’s Cemetery Foundation Board. In this role, she helped
provide oversight for a historic Irish cemetery on Moreland Avenue maintained
by Jonah House in cooperation with the Archdiocese of Baltimore.
Ms. Romano
wrote a request that her cemetery marker say, “Serve others, seek peace, resist
injustice.”
A memorial
service will be held at 11 a.m. April 25 at Corpus Christi Roman Catholic
Church, Mount Royal and Lafayette avenues, where she was a member.
A memorial has
been established in her name at Notre Dame of Maryland University.
Survivors
include her husband of more than 15 years, David Hoovler, an associate
professor of political science at Notre Dame of Maryland University; a
daughter, Emily Avoujangeli of Los Angeles; and two brothers, Anthony “Tony”
Romano and Richard “Rick” Romano, who both live in Baltimore.
1
Jacques Kelly came to the
Evening Sun as a summer intern in 1969 and later joined The News American. He’s
been with The Baltimore Sun since 1986. As a local columnist and reporter,
Jacques writes about neighborhoods for readers who like learning more about
their city. He also writes local obituaries.
Donations can be sent
to the Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 431 Notre Dame Lane, Apt. 206, Baltimore,
MD 21212. Ph: 410-323-1607; Email: mobuszewski2001 [at] comcast.net. Go
to http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/
"The master class
has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles.
The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject
class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their
lives." Eugene Victor Debs
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