Remembering Linda

Linda L. Waite

October 29, 1947 - December 7, 2009

When Linda laughed, you didn’t just hear it, you felt it.

She reverberated joy, and the echo of her love — for her family, for her friends, and for life — resounds through all who love and miss her.

 

I first met Linda in 1984 when my family moved to Parachute. My parents arranged for Linda to watch my sister and me while they worked. We became fast friends with Holly and spent the summer watching the Olympics in L.A. and tagging along while Linda taught 4-H cooking classes. I think of her every time I make blueberry muffins.

I treasure the memory of her chewing out my middle school basketball coach when I didn’t get any playing time in a tournament. I’m still a deplorable basketball player, and can’t fault the coach for utilizing the more talented players, but I love that someone was so outraged on my behalf.

Linda graduated at the top of her high school class, and she never lost her love of learning or reading. I enjoyed getting her take on current events, or talking to her about history or books worth reading.

Linda became a second mother to all her daughter’s friends, and her nieces and nephews. When I grew up, she also became a friend. She nurtured people like she took care of the flowers and plants in her garden.

Linda’s big heart had her giving so selflessly of herself, not just to her family and friends, but also to her community and her patients. She served as a 4-H leader, as a volunteer with the fire department and EMTs, as a trustee of the town board and member of the park board, as a nurse and so much more. If more people gave just a fraction of what Linda did, this world would be a far better place.

The last time I laughed with Linda was after dinner out with her husband John, my sister and my son. My sister and I jokingly suggested that my son try the Rocky Mountain Oysters, and then didn’t say a word when he ordered them. We held out to the end of the meal, and I can still hear Linda laughing at my son’s reaction when he learned what he’d consumed.

My last memory of Linda is of her standing in her garden, with a smile on her face and tears in her eyes.

I will treasure the lessons I learned from you, Linda. My family feels infinitely blessed to have known you. Thank you for your daughter, who I love like a sister. Thank you for welcoming so many into your home and heart.

Linda, I wish you were still with us, but I take comfort in the feeling that you are watching over those you love.

 — Amanda Lutey

  Dec. 8, 2010