[PVRCNC] N2YL SK

Wed May 5 18:56:43 EDT 2010

Sorry to report that Gary/W2CS wife,N2YL, died yesterday.
RIP Linda.

73, Howie
Hello Family and Friends, ...May 5, 2010.

I'm am so sorry to have to inform you that my wonderful wife of 41+ =
years passed away on May 4, seven days before her 64th birthday.

She has been managing chronic heart failure for 23 years and it came to =
a crisis point in December. Various surgeries and finally a trip to =
Tufts Medical Center in Boston were made. Linda qualified for a heart =
transplant, but she could not survive on medications alone and never =
recovered from the implantation of a "Left Ventricle Assist Device" =
(LVAD), which she was hoping to use at home while she waited for a donor =
heart. The plan was she would be mobile, albeit with lots of batteries =
and wires and a power cord from the LVAD out of her chest to a computer =
control device. But she'd be mobile, could be home, enjoy her life, her =
grandchildren, her gardens and her cats. Oh, and of course me!

Alas, that could not happen. The LVAD surgery apparently went fine. =
However just as she was becoming independent of the ventilator and just =
on a plain oxygen feed, she contracted an infection that was resistant =
to all antibiotics known. They tried them all for a little over a week =
while Linda got weaker. The night before her death she had a fever of =
106 degrees. I was at her bedside for the final several hours and was =
able to communicate with her and (redundantly) tell her I loved her very =
much, that I would make certain our children and our grandchildren would =
be cared for and lastly, her cats would be cared for by me in a loving =
manner. We had almost 3 weeks to cover a lot of ground, reaffirmed our =
relationship and became as comfortable as we could with each day's =
progress or lack thereof. It was quite a roller coaster. Linda showed =
herself to be an incredibly courageous person willing to go for the =
brass ring when it was her only option for a continued quality of life.  =
She is an example to all of us in many, many ways.

Linda to me and others was a very special person. A genius level IQ, yet =
you would never know it until you gave her a complex problem to solve. =
Outstanding abilities to mix with people and develop friendships, either =
in person or over the internet. A warm loving mother who cared for two =
infants in diapers concurrently. A person looking for intellectual =
stimulation who, after raising two children went back to school and =
successively got her BS and MS in Computer Science. Her career was with =
IBM, where she worked in Poughkeepsie mostly, but also in San Jose for =
three years and Raleigh for ten years. She was a participant in the =
immense effort to transition IBM mainframe computers to large computers =
based on small microprocessors running in parallel. Thus, she helped IBM =
redefine its large system business.  And now, full circle, passing along =
her boundless ability to love to her new grandchildren.  She always =
looked at the glass half full.  Always told me how blessed we were, with =
examples.  It took me many years to understand that,but I finally did.  =
We were blessed indeed.

She was an amateur radio operator, too. Her ham call sign was N2YL =
("Young Lady") and was very proud of being ranked as one of the world's =
experts in sending and receiving the International Morse Code. She spent =
several years working as a volunteer for the ham radio organization, =
ARRL, where she also was elected both as a Vice Director and Director.

She was an avid quilter. Both I and our four cats very much enjoy laying =
back in a recliner watching TV with the quilt over me and the cats on =
the quilt. Her quilting work is worthy of display, and has been.  Sadly, =
her very low energy level was an obstacle to her doing more quilting the =
past few years.

That having been said I'm sending this to an amalgam of e-mail addresses =
that come both from my and Linda's address books on our computers. Feel =
free to forward this information anywhere. Linda has friends all over =
the world and I very likely missed some.  Those of you on the Spades =
internet group, please check with me prior to forwarding; there are some =
people Linda would prefer do not receive the communication.

The "arrangements" are as follows:

  a.. No wake per Linda's request

  b.. Closed coffin per Linda's request

  c.. At Medway Christian Church (directions below) there will be a time =
between Noon and 1 p.m. on Friday May 7 for friends and family to view =
the coffin and chat about Linda. Linda and I were married at this church =
on August 24, 1968..

  d.. Church service at Medway Christian Church at 1 p.m..=20

  e.. Burial at the Medway Christian Church graveyard adjacent to the =
church immediately following the service.

  f.. Finally, Gary and Peggy McLarnon, Linda's brother and =
sister-in-law, graciously have offered their home to have those who wish =
to come meet and have a bite to eat.

I realize this is extremely short notice. However, Linda wished to be =
both low-key and done quickly, perhaps not as quickly as her half-Jewish =
background would prefer, but as closely as possible. If any of you =
possibly can visit Linda for the last time, it would be my, and her, =
honor.

Directions to the church from the NYS Thruway (I-87). Take the thruway =
to the Coxsackie exit, number 21B. Upon leaving the toll booths, turn =
left at the light onto US Route 9W South. Follow this road into =
Coxsackie at the intersection with NY Route 81. Turn right onto route =
81. Follow 81 across the NAYS Thruway and bear right onto country route =
26. This is a small country road that goes right past the Quarry Steak =
House. Take route 26 all the way to the Church, which is the only church =
on that road and on your right. You will cross two intersections of =
note: one where another country route merges from the right (you might =
miss that one) and a four-corners intersection with a general store in =
the far left corner. In all cases keep going straight and you'll find =
the church not far beyond the four-corners intersection.=20

Those who would like to join us for some food and conversation after the =
burial. We can form up a convoy at the church.

Thank you for reading this rather long email, but I think Linda deserves =
our full respect and I intend to treat her as such.

Gary Ferdinand

-- 
http://n4af.blountscreek.org