Linda A Reed's Obituary
Linda Reed, 83, of Palm Coast passed away on January 2, 2023 at the age of 83 after a battle with a major stroke. She was surrounded by family at the time of her passing.
Linda Ann Sanders was born in Newark, Ohio on 11 March 1939 to Donald Sanders and Esther Dodson. Tragically, her mother died when Linda was only three years old. Later, her father remarried to Reathal Accorn. Thankfully, the sisters grew to be good natured, accepting, warm and friendly like their father.
Working for the Ohio Power Company, Linda eloped with Mark Hopkins and they were married the day after her 21st birthday. Linda gave birth to two sons, Mark and Chris, who she was immensely proud of and said so relentlessly. Linda Hopkins was overly confident that she had the two best boys in the world. Living in the countryside with little means, Linda found ways to spoil her sons by saving pennies to take them up to Johnstown for an ice cream cone or going to the town dump to go treasure hunting. She raised them with laughter, silliness, love and joy.
Her first marriage did not work out so she left the countryside and moved to Columbus and worked at Lazarus where she met and eventually married Joe Lavitchka, a talented salesman who liked to socialize, tell jokes, and have a good time. Linda Lavitchka focused her attention on her boys, living through challenging times and growing a love for fury four-legged creatures.
Linda’s third marriage, to Robert Reed, blessed her with a daughter-in-law and grandchildren. Over the years, her extended family grew in size despite her current marital status. Linda Reed was a ‘big tent’ type of person welcoming all, treating everyone as friends or family. She was not like this only with humans but animals alike. She loved them all and they gravitated towards her. She gave several lifetimes of love to scores of four legged friends.
Linda’s work ethic, masterful ability to get along with anyone led her to a variety of jobs throughout her life. She handled administrative responsibilities at Ohio State University’s Don Scott Airport where she was always able to be agreeable with a smile under any condition including when Jack Nicklaus’ dog peed on her counter. Being invaluable, her boss convinced her to follow him to Union County Airport in Marysville and to Buckeye Intra-National Airport. Her Swiss army knife approach to work led her to work for the director of the Fawcett Center for Tomorrow at the Ohio State University where she did everything from scheduling conferences, dealing with housekeeping, the kitchen staff, and maintenance. No work was beneath her. She was perfect for handling all the administrative duties of B&B Machines, a small pump manufacturing company out in the Ohio countryside. Linda closed out her working career at the Whetstone Gardens Nursing and Assisted Living facility where she made everyone feel special and cared for. Her need to take care of people continued throughout the rest of her life.
Linda had a warm and engaging personality with a smile that could light up a room. She was silly, loved to laugh, and was quick to sacrifice her time and energy for the benefit of others. Though no one could ever convince her in a million years, she truly was an extraordinary human being. A one in a million and she will be missed more than a million words can adequately explain.
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