Re: “Obituary: Irene Cornell Linde, 1922-2018”

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