It is with tremendous sorrow and thanks for her life that we announce Linda’s passing Thursday morning, February 7, 2019 surrounded by her loving husband and children. There will be a celebration of life ceremony held April 28th, 2019 at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Bremerton, Washington.
If you would like to make a donation in Linda's honor please consider the following charities:
Tributes
Leave a tributeThis I remember and treasure
We feel Linda genuinely seemed interested and really tried getting to know us. She made us feel part of the family and even made an effort to learn Dutch. Linda also appeared to us as a wise person who cared a lot about the development and education of children.
We are thankful we had a chance to know her.
I have so many cherished memories of Linda, I hardly know where to start. I first met her (and Jim, Jim Jr and Sarah) in 1969 at my parents’ house in Endwell, New York. They were living near Albany and had driven through a snowstorm to be there. Over the years and moves to their many houses, we shared so much. For one thing, we had both married Manlove guys, and we often shared stories: one time, I confided in her that Bob had expressed disapproval when I bought a red dress. “Married women don’t wear red,” he had said. She matched that with a story about Jim’s reaction when she got a haircut that he didn’t like. “Married women don’t show their ears.”
But the thread that stands out most for me down through the years is our love of sewing, especially quilting. Linda loved making other people happy, and she made quilts for our daughters when they were very young. When we got together, we would share our guilt over the size of our fabric stashes, as well as our current projects and plans.
I don’t remember which house they were living in when Linda presented me with 2 beautiful matching quilt tops in 1930’s fabrics that she had found in a rag bag at a local flea market. Astonished at this find, and not wanting to cheat the seller, she had held them up and said she had found them in the rag bag. She said the man turned to her indignantly and said, “Yes, and they’re 50 cents each!” How we gloated over that find! For the next few years, I spent Sunday mornings handquilting those two quilt tops while my family listened to Prairie Home Companion. We gave one quilt back to Linda and Jim, and kept the other, along with all the lovely memories it evokes.
Then, some years ago, Linda showed me a collection of quilt tops that her friend Dwayne had collected, and she asked me if I could quilt one for use in Steve and Susan’s cabin in Arizona. I agreed and chose one, but by the time I had retired and had enough time, I also had arthritis, so the quilt top hung in my closet and my guilt over procrastinating grew. Finally, when Linda passed, I pulled the quilt top out of my closet and decided to fulfill her idea in time for this memorial. I had it machine-quilted, and hemmed it, and it’s beautiful. Linda would be so pleased. And I was given another memory of her to treasure.
One of Linda’s many lovable personal characteristics was her empathy and steadfast desire to help those in need. And, on some conscious or subconscious level, she knew that this included everyone in reach. It is an understandable tendency in humans to save their empathy for the immediate family but not Linda. If she could reach someone, related or not, she wanted to try to help. Of course, Linda had needs of her own. But, if such were suggested, she would react as if to say, “Pshaw! These are nothing compared to the needs of other people.”
I think particularly of Linda reaching out to help Mom. Now, growing old is hard work for everyone but especially for my mom. My father died in in 1975 and this put before her the struggle of living alone for what turned out to be 30 years. Inevitably, the struggle becomes too hard to bear and so it should not have been a surprise when we all found she was living with a substantial population of cockroaches and rodents. Linda knew what to do; she packed her car full of cleaning supplies and empty boxes and drove 80 miles back and forth multiple times to take charge of the situation. Linda soon took mom back with her to Morris, Illinois, where she and Jim were living.
This was a shining example of Linda’s life. Her altruistic spirit that was demonstrated with my mother can be seen in her relationships with many, many others. In her heart, she held fast to the belief that nurturance is deeply and permanently equated with being human. To know, befriend, or love people requires helping and caring for them just as helping and caring for people required knowing, befriending, and loving them.
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I met Linda at Tumwater High school the first year that the high school opened in 1961. We were both seniors. Her locker was near mine at the brand new school. We shared one class together, but we often met at our lockers to socialize. Once she asked me if I had any wheat cent pennies. I looked at my change in my pocket. I had several Lincoln Memorial pennies. I figured she was short of money so I offered them to her. She laughed and told me she didn't want my money, but she was collecting wheat cent pennies because they stopped making them in 1959. She figured that they would increase in value so she started hoarding them. I thought about this and decided to keep all the wheat cent pennies I found too. I kept them in a coffee can. I still have that coffee can today full of wheat cent pennies that I have collected over the last fifty-eight years. A few years ago I asked a coin dealer what the value of these pennies were. He told me most were about two or three cents each which would not have been a good retirement investment!
Linda asked me to go to the very first dance held at Tumwater High School. It was a tolo. The theme was "Dogpatch" so she dressed as Daisy Mae and I as Lil Abner. I had just gotten my driver's license so this might have been my first date driving my parent's car. My mother told me that it was appropriate to give a female date a corsage. I couldn't afford a real corsage so since the theme was "Dogpatch", I went out to the garden and picked some plants and made Linda a corsage made out of vegetables (lettuce, carrot, bean, peas, etc.). I don't remember what Linda said about it, but I do remember her mother laughing and laughing about it.
In January I took Linda to the school's first real prom. At the end of the school year after graduation ceremonies many of the seniors were invited to Linda's house where we sat around a fire pit swapping stories, singing and reminiscing. That Fall I went to the University of Washington. Linda went to Western. We corresponded occasionally until I got a letter where she talked only about some guy named Jim. I didn't hear from her again until a few years later telling me she married this guy and was living in Georgia.
I did not hear from Linda for another fifteen years or so. One day around Christmas in the mid eighties my mother brought to me a Christmas card that was sent to her by Linda. Linda had no idea where I was or that I had gone to grad school, married, taught and coached in Illinois for five years, and had returned to Olympia to teach at Olympia High School. Linda's card had an address that caught my attention. It was from Morris, Illinois. I had never heard of Morris and had to look it up on a map. I wrote back to her and got her up caught on my life since college days. I don't think I heard back from Linda again after that.
As chairman of the Washington State Latin teachers I attended twenty-four National Junior Classical League conventions taking students to compete. In the late nineties I drove to the convention that year at North Dakota State University. I drove an old Minnie Winnie to camp in along the route. After the convention I wanted to visit relatives in Minnesota and Wisconsin and visit places in Illinois where I used to live and go to Indiana University where I went to grad school. After seeing my relatives I planned my route to avoid going into Chicago by taking I-39 south. Having by passed Chicago I noticed an intersection up ahead with a stop light which I thought was odd for a freeway. The light had just turned red. While waiting for it to turn green, I noticed a large green sign pointing to the left that said "Morris". That sounded familiar to me. Just as the light turned green I remembered that is where Linda's address on the Christmas card was from so I turned left and headed to Morris. I had no idea where she lived. I didn't have her address, and I couldn't even remember her last name. As I drove into the city limits, I stopped a small grocery store and asked if they had a phone book. As I looked in the book, I remembered her last name was Man something. So I looked up in the "M"s and found "James Manlove". "That's it" I exclaimed! I wrote down the address and asked the proprietor if he knew where this address was. He told me it was just two blocks away, turn right, and the house was about two or three blocks down the street. So I drove there thinking she might be at work or doing errands, but I took a chance. I drove by the house and noticed the three story structure that looked like a railroad baron's house. One problem! There was a "For Sale" sign in the front yard. Maybe they had moved. I decided to go and ring the doorbell anyway. Upon the second ring Linda opened the door. I recognized her right away. She was obviously order and more mature looking, but then maybe so was I. I told her I was driving by and saw the for sale sign in the yard and ....She interrupted me to ask if I saw what was written underneath the for sale sign which said "By Appointment Only". Now what do I do? I asked her if she wanted to buy a set of encyclopedias. She started to shut the door in my face! Then I asked her if she would like to buy some Avon products. By now she was really getting upset and was about to slam the door in my face. I finally asked her if she would be interested in buying an Olympia Lake Fair button. She froze! Only she would know what that referred to for she was the Tumwater princess at the Olympia 1962 Lake Fair summer event. Finally I said "You don't recognize me, do you"? She stared at me and shook her head. I finally said "I am Bill Curtis, Tumwater 1962". She threw the screen door open and jumped into my arms and gave me a big hug. There were tears in her eyes as well as mine. She gave me a tour of the house and took me to lunch at a pizza deli place where we visited for over three hours. I didn't know time could pass so quickly. Before I left Linda told me that she and Jim were planning to move back to the Northwest to the Puyallup area. I didn't hear from Linda for a few more years. She finally wrote and told me they had settled in Port Orchard on a lake. We got to visit her twice at this home. In 2002 I invited Linda and Jim to our house as I was having a gathering of friends for the Tumwater High School fortieth anniversary. About twenty people attended. Linda had not seen most of these people since graduation night in 1962.
I didn't hear much from Linda after that, but around 2010 she did write to tell me that her daughter Sarah had received a two year internship at the Kelly School of Business at Indiana University. That Fall I retired and flew back to IU and did a several day nostalgic trip. While there I looked up Sarah, found her office, introduced myself, and had lunch with her twice. I was taken aback when Sarah told me many stories her mother had told her about me! I didn't ask what stories were about! Sarah told me she was getting married and invited me right there to her wedding which took place a couple of years later in Poulsbo, Washington. Linda was at the wedding. It was sad to see her in a wheel chair, but I do remember the look of pride, joy, and fondness on her face to see her daughter getting married. This was the last time I saw or heard from Linda, but I have kept in touch with Sarah.
I often wonder what would have happened if that light on the freeway in Illinois had not turned red. I probably would have driven past and not have noticed the sign pointing to Morris. I may not have renewed my friendship with Linda or met Sarah.
Letting Linny Out
White Gingham, Puyallup
When I was around 8 or 9, I remember mom was finishing up her student teaching. We were living in Puyallup Washington. I got off the bus as usual, and mom came rushing out of the house to give me a hug and when I went into my bedroom- she had completely redecorated it while I'd been away at school. A canopy bed and bedspread, pillows and curtain all in pink and white gingham print- made by her. I was over the moon with excitement- being the little girl I was- the little girl mom helped me be, and allowed me to be- so I could be the woman I became with this kind of love and security under my feet. I'm so incredibly grateful for this memory and for her love in my life.