[Organizers] Sad news regarding Linda Leslie

Lisa Marie Lunt lisalunt at gmail.com
Fri Feb 16 00:53:27 PST 2018


Thanks Luke. Bob Golder has now given us the go-ahead to share this on
Facebook. This is a terrible loss for me and our whole community.

For those of you in the Boston area, we have decided to make our next
Jamaica Plain Gender Free Contra a memorial dance for Linda.

https://calendar.google.com/event?action=TEMPLATE&tmeid=NW1jcGEwdHEyaXJncmowZmF0aTNhODFiZzggZjBhdXYybWM5cDhsajYwcWltcDZuNDY3Z29AZw&tmsrc=f0auv2mc9p8lj60qimp6n467go%40group.calendar.google.com



Lisa Lunt

On Thu, Feb 15, 2018 at 12:16 PM, Luke Donforth via Organizers <
organizers at lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

> Hello all,
>
> This has already gone around on the callers page for shared weight, but I
> thought the organizer page should hear it as well for anyone not on both.
>
> Linda Leslie passed away this past weekend.
>
> ​Her husband has requested that this not go on FB; but instead be shared
> via e-mail and word of mouth.​
>
> ​I'm one of several people incredibly saddened by this loss. Linda was a
> fount of warmth and encouragement.  ​
>
> ​Chris Ricciotti spoke eloquently about this tragedy:
>
>
> To the dance community:
>
> It is with great sadness that I am passing on the news that Linda Leslie passed
> away Sunday evening (Feb 11).   She called on Thursday night at the
> Concord Scout House, Friday evening at the Rehoboth Contra Dance, and
> then again on Saturday evening at our own contra dance in Jamaica Plain.
> She called an amazing dance program for all of us those evenings!
>
> Linda had been having difficulty breathing during the past week or so,
> particularly after walking, and this became increasing worse over the past
> few evenings.  On Sunday evening, she was taken by ambulance to her local
> Emergency Room and she passed away in the ambulance on the way to the
> hospital.
>
> Her husband Bob Golder has requested that Linda’s passing NOT be posted
> on Facebook.  Email and word of mouth is fine, but he prefers this not to
> become a Facebook event.
>
> As a caller, she took the love and the joy she experienced as a dancer,
> and transformed the dance community every where she went, touching us all
> with her lovely soft spoken presence that would make you feel embraced with
> that love she had when she danced.  To many of us, she was like our dancing
> “mom” or “grandmom”, always a warm smile, always ready with humor, always
> looking out to make sure everyone was having a good time, and feeling safe
> within the room.
>
> In our community, she was a bridge builder, and a role model of what good
> dancing and community building are all about.  She was also a HUGE advocate
> of gender-free dancing.  She was one of the key people who helped us
> connect with and be an accepted part of the greater community of dancers,
> and encouraged us to share our love of dancing with others as a way to help
> build those connections.
>
> She was also a part of helping us to build the strong relationship we have
> with NEFFA, being a support to our fundraising food booth, being present at
> meetings we had with NEFFA as we worked on being more of a part of the
> greater dance community, helping us to navigate the issues that were
> occasionally a part of this process, as she helped us to better understand
> the greater dance community, as they came to know us
>
> At our dance camps, as many of you know, her presence was always a welcome
> treat, whether she came as a dancer simply because she loved our community
> so much, or when she would come as a caller to build our community, and the
> bonds that go with it, as she shared her passion and love of music and
> dancing.
>
> And of course, we cannot forget her delightful husband Bob, who has also
> been a warm personality, much loved in our community, also sharing his love
> of dancing with us, not only as a dancer, but as a caller, having written
> some of my favorite dances along the way.  Bob has also being a great NEFFA
> advocate helping us many times along the way.  His warm smile and
> delightful presence has brought a lot of joy to us a lot over the years,
> and he continues to be a part of the family that makes our dance a special
> place to be.
>
> I know we will all miss Linda very much.  It’s very difficult to lose
> someone who has had such a presence in our lives and who has brought us so
> much, and who was a big part of our dancing family.  As we find out more
> information about memorial service arrangements, we will let you know,
> along with any memorial dances that may be organized in her honor.
>
> In the mean time, when we come together to dance, let us honor her memory
> by sharing that joy she brought to each of us, with each other, and let us
> dance in  honor of all our friends and loved ones who have gone before us.
>  It is moments like this that are so precious – and Linda was certainly
> one of them!
>
> In sorrow and gratitude for having the honor of knowing Linda,
>
> Chris Ricciotti
>
>>
> ​Linda's husband Bob wrote in to the callers list:
>
> Thank you everyone for your kind words and warm memories of Linda Leslie,
> and your concern for me and the rest of her family. I am alternating
> between grieving, setting priorities on behalf of our family, and quickly
> making many legal, financial, and remembrance decisions. It is an extremely
> challenging time, but I have family with me and supportive friends nearby,
> and will ask for assistance as needed. Our folk arts, music, and dance
> friends have always been a great source of joy for Linda and me. There
> are no immediate observances or memorial services. At some future date
> measured in weeks, or a month, or more from now, there will be a
> celebration of Linda Leslie's life.  … Bob Golder ​
>
>
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>
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