Army National Guard veteran Kelly Fitzpatrick with her family
For the past 16 years, All Comfort Services has partnered with the LII Lennox Foundation’s Feel the Love, a program that warms both hearts and homes.
Each year, Feel the Love invites friends, families and neighbors across the U.S. and Canada to nominate local heroes, individuals in need who also deserve recognition for their service to others.
The recipients all receive Lennox high-efficiency gas furnaces and air conditioning units — and in the Greater Madison Area, the labor and materials needed for installation are donated by All Comfort Services and their employees.
Here are the 2025 local hero recipients.
Navy veteran and Madison resident Ray Washa with a group of Feel the Love volunteers
Ray Washa of Madison, a life of service to his country and his city
As soon as Ray Washa graduated from high school, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy. It was 1972 and he served on both the USS Worden and the USS Sperry.
When he returned home from the war, he served his city working for the Madison Water Utility.
Today if you pass by his home on the north side, you’ll see a beautifully carved wooden totem pole in the front yard. The eagle at the top represents the republic of the United States, and below it are all the branches of the armed forces.
“It’s just a statement I wanted to make to thank all my brothers and sisters who have served in the U.S. military to protect our country,” he said in a video posted to Facebook.
Deanna Case of Janesville, one of the “Knitting Grandmas”
For the past 10 years, Deanna Case has helped keep her community warm as part of a local group called the “Knitting Grandmas.”
She and the other grandmothers gather regularly to make lap blankets, hats and scarves, which they donate to schoolchildren and others in need.
Case is part of a long family tradition of service. Her husband was in the Navy, her son was in the Army, and her grandson, following in his granddad’s footsteps, joined the Navy. She also has two step-grandsons, one in the Navy and the other in the Air Force.
Kelly Fitzpatrick of Poynette, devoted mom and full-time caregiver
Jeff, a Feel the Love volunteer, installs a new HVAC system for “Knitting Grandma” Deanna Case
Being a single parent is never an easy job, and for Army National Guard veteran Kelly Fitzpatrick, it’s a little more complicated than that.
Each of her three sons, ages 10, 12 and 14, has Duchenne muscular dystrophy — a particularly severe form of the disease that affects the heart, lungs and muscles, causing debilitating mobility problems.
She’s been a full-time caregiver for the boys, but this past year things got even tougher. Her youngest son lost the ability to walk and also began facing mental health challenges.
All Comfort’s long tradition of giving back to the community
Since the beginning of the Feel the Love program, All Comfort Services has contributed more than 600 volunteer hours, installing recipients’ homes with heating, cooling and electrical systems. This has not only brought great joy to recipients, but also to the employees, who are proud to be a part of the program.
“We’re humbled to continue this tradition of comfort, care and community,” a spokesperson for the company said in a Facebook post.
For more information, visit allcomfortservices.com and feelthelove.com.
