Senior Spotlights at Renaissance Village Murrieta
Renaissance Village Murrieta's Senior Spotlights features Linda B.
Linda was born in Visalia, CA in May of 1947. She is the oldest of two children, but she wasn’t her brother’s biggest fan when he came home. She even asked her mother to take Michael back, but she wouldn’t. One of her most vivid memories of him was a car ride when he was six months old. She asked for the name of his haircut, and her mother said it was a “butch.” From then on Linda and everyone in their family called him Butch.
Despite having only one brother, Linda’s family is by no means small. Most of her family lived in Visalia. Being the oldest of 38 grandchildren, Linda spent a lot of time babysitting her cousins. During the winter of 1955, cities throughout California flooded. Linda’s family’s house did not flood. Linda’s parent’s two-bedroom, one-bathroom home housed 32 of their family members. Since there was no going out, everyone lived off of the food her mother had frozen or canned. Despite the close quarters, Linda does not recall any fights or arguments.
It was at the age of nine that Linda found the Lord in Vacation Bible School (VBS), and she also met her husband, Gene, there at 16. VBS holds a special place in her heart for both of these reasons. Toward the end of high school, Gene was unsure of what to do after graduating. Linda encouraged him to join the military, so he joined the Air Force. She attended the College of the Sequoias in Visalia. However, she got her MRS Degree first and didn’t graduate. Twenty-nine days after she and Gene married, he went to Vietnam. While he was away, Linda worked a job with Fuller Brush. She knocked on doors to sell brushes and cleaning supplies. Unfortunately, Linda liked visiting more than selling.
While in Vietnam, Gene served in the Air Force Security Service as a Morse Code Interceptor. Also referred to as “Ditty Boppers,” these men listened and translated Morse Code. When Gene returned in 1967, he continued his military career. They moved to Sacramento, CA and lived there for 2.5 years. Then they lived in Hawaii for four years before returning to California. The Lord then sent them to Nebraska to prepare them for winters because three years later they moved to Alaska where they lived for 15 years.
Born to be a Mom
Linda’s main job was a mother to her sons, William Eric and Michael Lee. She enjoyed the times she and Gene spent with the boys. Linda shared that for four years they lived without a TV. In that time, they taught the boys to play various games and went through the Bible with them. They also went on mission trips with their church to North Carolina, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. When the boys were older, they also visited Hawaii.
While in Nebraska, Linda worked part-time at their church’s preschool. When they moved to Alaska, she worked full-time at the preschool on base. She later became the assistant coordinator for the community school. They taught various classes like computers, typing, cake decorating, and more. Linda later worked at the Anchorage School District as a teaching assistant. She worked there for ten years with the Alternative Career Education (ACE) program. ACE taught classes on job skills, food preparation, housekeeping, childcare, clerical, and more.
The Hardest Year
Toward the end of their time in Alaska, Gene fell ill. His doctor advised they leave the state, so they went back to California. After he retired, the Lord opened the door for them to start a prison ministry. They drove 200 miles round trip every Saturday and 150 miles every Thursday. Unfortunately, Gene contracted bacterial meningitis, and they had to stop. It was a sincere desire of his to get well enough to go back. But, a few weeks shy of their 47th wedding anniversary, Gene passed away. That year was tough for Linda. She lost an additional 17 people in the nine months that followed.
The most critical thing in Linda’s life is her friendship with others. She shares this is only made better through her relationship with Jesus Christ. Linda doesn’t want people to remember her for being a good person, but rather for being a Christ-centered person. Her involvement in the church has been significant throughout her life. In addition to all the ministries she served in, she also cooked for church retreats and camps.
Loving Life in the Difficult Times
Linda loved cooking, but she enjoyed cake decorating and flower arranging more. However, Linda has essential tremors. These tremors cause uncontrollable shaking or “tremors” that can affect the voice, head, arms, and legs. Linda has familial tremors, meaning they are hereditary. She’s the fourth generation in her family to have them. Her familial tremors make it difficult to do the things she loves. However, she doesn’t let that stop her from reading and playing mind games, Scrabble, and Pinochle.
Her son, Eric, now works in Vancouver, Washington as an events coordinator for Banfield. Eric and his wife are parents to four kids: Ethan, Luke, Esther, and Sophia. Lee owns a foster care agency in Lake Elsinore, CA. He and his wife are parents to one boy, Chase, and they live in Winchester, CA. Linda loves being a grandmother. She hopes to have a relationship with her grandkids much like the one she had with her grandmother.
When it comes to Renaissance Village Murrieta, Linda loves the people most. She shares they’ve all become like family. Last year Linda came for a few days of respite care at Renaissance Village Murrieta while her daughter-in-law was out of town. She got a taste of the community and shares that Renaissance is a port in a storm. Linda feels that the people are helpful, friendly, and supportive.
