Died peacefully at Miriam Boyd Palin Hospice Residence in Wayland on February 10th, surrounded by the love of her family. She was 85 years old.
Linda was the daughter of the late Nathan and Beatrice (Lourie) Buchman and was born in Cambridge on July 11, 1938. She grew up in Brookline and attended Brookline High School, class of 1956. Linda graduated from Brown University, and received a Master’s in Education in Counseling Psychology from Leslie College. While at Brown Linda was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa.
Linda married fellow Brown graduate Lee Allen following graduation, and they had one daughter, Debby. Linda and her family settled in Needham for several years before moving to Duxbury where Linda was appointed President of the Duxbury Art Association and was renowned for her pastel portraits, teaching portrait classes for adults and high school students, and exhibiting her work locally. Linda continued to create portraits throughout her lifetime, the last being of her youngest granddaughter Lily, which was displayed on an easel in her room.
Linda learned in 1985 that she had breast cancer and the cancer later metastasized. There were additional health challenges throughout Linda’s lifetime, but she cherished every day and approached each challenge that came her way with positivity. Linda’s first Granddaughter Alexandra was born in 1995 and Linda believed that both Alexandra and her younger sister Lily were her guardian angels. In 1992 Linda began swimming at Walden Pond where she later developed a passion for photographing the subtle nuances of Walden Pond, its foliage and wildlife in every season. Walden Pond became her healing place where she developed close friendships with other Walden regulars who were drawn to its exquisite beauty and tranquility. Her well-documented collection of photos ended up numbering in the tens of thousands. Linda had several exhibits of her work at the Tsongas Gallery at Walden Pond.
Linda's talent and passion for art and photography was surpassed by her compassion and love for her family and devotion to her large circle of friends. As an avid listener, with an empathetic soul, who gave wise advice and had a great sense of humor, Linda made friends wherever she went.
Following her divorce Linda spent several years counseling adolescents in both a clinical and school setting, followed by working as a surgical Liaison at The New England Deaconess Hospital where she provided counseling and emotional support to patients and families facing terminal diagnoses and going through the dying process. Linda was also a member of the Deaconess Bioethics Committee. Linda was proud to be a participant in the film, "When Breast Cancer Comes Back: Skills for Living" and was a presenter at the American College of Oncology Administrators Second Annual Symposium in Nashville, Tennessee. In addition, Linda was a member of a development group at Harvard Medical School designing a course on Death and Dying that began in the spring of 1990. Her tenacious advocacy for patients and her impassioned zeal in which she focused her energy to help others with terminal illness was recognized and celebrated by all who knew her.
What Linda believed was her most glorious gift were her two granddaughters, Alexandra "Ally" and Lily. Linda was a doting and proud grandmother, who relished her granddaughter’s achievements and adored spending every possible moment with each of them. Ally and Lily, along with their mother, Debby, have inherited from Linda her warmth, kindness, intellect, resilience, positivity and propensity for making friends. Her memory will be a blessing to all who knew Linda.
Linda leaves her daughter Debby Toto and her husband John of Wayland, Granddaughters Alexandra of Austin, TX and Lily of Boston. She was predeceased by her former husband Lee Allen. A celebration of Linda's life will take place in the spring.