Linda K. Simmins

Linda Kay (Stockstad) (Murdock) Simmins 1948-2019 Met at the end of the Rainbow Bridge by her childhood dog Stubby, her childhood cat, her adult furbabies Tuffles, Midnight, Shadow, Patches, Smokie, Miss Kitty, Merlin, and Arthur. And she was Chuck's baby, too. Linda grew up in Milnor, a rural North Dakota farm town. She began singing before she was in school and her love of song continued until her death. In high school she was in the marching band and the cheer band. She played taps as veterans and fallen soldiers were laid to rest. She sang in church and at weddings. Her bachelor's degree in math and PE allowed her to teach Junior High as she followed her first husband through his Ph.D., from town to town and finally to Texas A&M. She challenged herself and obtained a Masters in Computer Science while working. Change came, he went, and she found herself a computer trainer at A&M, an adjunct at Blinn Community College, and a regular with the local community theater. In her spare time she also helped found the second Lutheran church for College Station. She met Chuck online, in 1994, before there was a World Wide Web. They were married on a sunny July day, in 1995, in a park in Alfred, New York. The wedding reception found her in the seat of a fire engine as Chuck's friends paraded through the town with lights and sirens running. A move to the Rochester, New York, area followed. She trained, worked as a technical writer, as an Excel macro guru, and her last position was at Nazareth College. She trained there and helped with the newly installed student data base. Over the next few years, health challenges kept her at home, diabetes, a heart attack, and two strokes. She cared for her furbabies and for her husband. Her death was unexpected though her health had worsened over the final months of her life. Her final words to Chuck were "I love you, too." Should any of you wish to, Linda would have appreciated a donation to Lollypop Farm, Humane Society of Greater Rochester, 90 Victor Rd, Fairport, NY 14450. Our last 5 fur babies came from there.

Linda K. Simmins

April 16, 2019