February 6, 1922-November 23, 2018
Underhill, Vt.
At some point in our lives, we encounter a person purely generous and loving, full of honesty, humility, humor, integrity and selflessness. A person who can only be described with kind words and who only had kind words for others. Irene Linde was that person. Sadly, we all lost her on Friday, November 23, 2018. She died peacefully with loving family by her side and with her in spirit.
Irene Bonner Cornell was born in Framingham, Mass., the youngest of six children growing up on a poultry farm. As a young woman, she moved to New York City and worked at Pathe News Service. In 1952, she married William Vincent Linde, living first in NYC, then Washington, D.C. and Michigan, and finally settling in Underhill Center, Vt., in 1956. There, they created a beautiful home for their family. Life took a hard turn in 1968 when Bill died suddenly. After that, Irene managed her household and her family with fierce independence, great care and strong love.
A doctor recently mentioned that Irene had the strongest heart she had ever seen in a person of her age. Those of us who knew her can, without question, tell you that Irene indeed had the biggest and kindest heart. She always welcomed people into her home and was always on the lookout to help those around her and in the community. From offering to help cook or do the dishes to volunteering for positions and committees in the town, Irene was always there selflessly for the people who needed her.
Among her many roles in the community, Irene served on the Underhill Central and Mount Mansfield School Boards, the Underhill Planning Commission and Energy Committee and the Underhill Historical Society, and she volunteered for Vermont Public Radio’s fundraising campaigns. She also served many years on the Underhill Board of Auditors, compiling the yearly town meeting report.
If there was an event associated with the town of Underhill, you could count on seeing her participating and helping. While healing from a broken hip, she still managed to come out on a cold wet evening for last summer’s Conservation Committee’s food truck event at Moore Park in Underhill.
Irene, who was known as “Paka” by her grandchildren and their friends, will be fondly remembered by countless people she has known in her lifetime — many more than can be possibly listed here. We can start the list with her closest family.
Her children: Carey Linde and his wife, Dong Li, of Vancouver, B.C.; Lee Linde and her partner, Sonny Kletter, of St. Petersburgh, Fla.; Phil Linde and his wife, Terry, of Lansing, N.Y.; Robert Linde and his partner, Michelle Cueva, of Durham, N.C.; and Ann Linde and her husband, Nate Goldman, of Underhill, Vt.
Grandchildren: Teal Linde and his wife, Jing; Sunita Linde and her partner, Laurent Potdevin; the Elkins family; Victoria Linde-Palmeroni; Alexander Linde and his fiancée, Cat Dinh-Le; Frasier Linde; Baird Linde; Eli Goldman; and Silas Goldman.
Great-grandchildren: Isabella and Lara Linde, and Vincent Palmeroni.
Her granddaughter Bessa Linde is not with us to remember her now but will always be a part of our collective love for Irene.
The family would like to offer a special thank-you to her many friends who have shared so much adventure, laughter and love through the years. Most recently, Irene so enjoyed her weekly Nerdy-Wordy group.
A memorial service will be scheduled for lilac season in the spring.
Donations in her memory can be made to the Underhill Historical Society, P.O. Box 153, Underhill Center, VT 05490.
This article appears in Nov 21-27, 2018.
Mrs. Irene Linde lived an extraordinary, only-in-Vermont life, and her legacy goes far beyond the accomplishments in her obituary. Allow me the moment to tell you of one indelible memory:
It’s the dead winter in Vermont, snow piled thick, air so cold it snaps your nostrils shut. I am in fourth grade. My sister Madeleine is in sixth, my brother Charley is in third, Tony in second. We are walking the one-mile hike home, up Pleasant Valley Road from the little Underhill Elementary School.
We’re bundled up just fine – jackets, wool hats, mittens, snow pants, boots, scarves – but it’s still so very cold, and we can’t trudge very fast because of all the layers of clothing. Mom is home with our baby sister Angeline, so we don’t bother her to get us. We’re literally walking that proverbial mile-to-school-in-the-snow claim that cranky old folks like to make.
A car pulls up alongside us and stops. The snow-white head of Mrs. Linde pokes out the window. Here’s her proposition to the four of us:
“Why don’t I drive all of you to my house, fix you hot chocolate, let you warm up and then I’ll drive you all home.”
I don’t need to elaborate on our immense feelings of gratitude, the feeling and taste of the hot cocoa, the rush of heat back to our small, fingertips, noses and feet. You can interpret that on your own.
I will, however, elaborate on this obituary by observing that the good life of a fine person can still warm the heart of this man, some 50 years later, some thousands of miles away. Which is no small feat.
With great affection,
Peter Albert
San Francisco, CA