Inspiring Mother–Daughter Veterans and Authors Who Serve their Community

DOWNERS GROVE–Meet the most inspiring Mother–Daughter Veterans and Authors who serve their community.

Major Lita Tomas (Ret.) enlisted with the U.S. Army in 1977, the first year that women could train as part of the regular army, serving as a tank mechanic turned global logistics officer. She also served in the Illinois Army National Guard, Army Reserves, and Air Force Reserves. Tomas holds a master’s degree in recreational therapy and has spent a lifetime fighting injustice.

1LT Jean Marie McNamara (Ret.), like her mother Lita Tomas, has a passion for helping others, and she followed in her footsteps to join the army. She served as a medic and a nuclear, biological, chemical, and radiological officer. She was also deputy director of her local Emergency Services & Disaster Agency. After an injury, she retired to explore the challenges of recovery and endurance, working to claim new pathways of service and meaning.

The pair live in Downers Grove, where they produce an award-winning patient advocacy podcast, PodcastDX, and have recently published a joint memoir - Lita & Jean: Memoirs of Two Generations of Military Women. Speaking with unflinching candor about their darkest moments and the truth of family, disability, military service, and more, their resilience and resolve inspire all who hear their heartfelt truth.

-Kristen Kucharski, Photos Submitted