No one was more surprised than I was when I saw the lineup of guests set up by my pal Barbara Ann Zippi for one of our 'Live From the Newsroom' shows a few years back.
I actually had to read the list again.
Yep, that was longtime Newtown Supervisor Linda Houldin on the list. I kind of wondered how long it took Barb to convince her to do it.
The Newtown pol had several dust-ups with the paper and our coverage. She was not bashful about saying she did not think she had been treated fairly, and said so at several public appearances I made, including a luncheon of the Delaware County Press Club
But Houldin was not appearing on the show as Newtown supervisor. She was coming on wearing a couple of her other many hats, as head of the Delaware County Historical Society and co-founder of the Delaware County Veterans Memorial.
When she showed up at the office for the live-streaming of the show, I think she was still having trepidations about how things were going to go.
She could not have been nicer.
The show went off without a hitch.
And I had a new friend.
Veterans issues were very close to Linda's heart, along with her special educational push in getting young people involved in veterans issues and expanding their knowledge of what these men and women sacrificed.
We did several shows together, including one out at the Veterans Memorial out on West Chester Pike in Newtown Square.
Linda died earlier this week following a severe asthma attack.
The county has lost a special person.
And local veterans have lost a very special friend.
Maybe no one knew just how much she put into the drive to construct the memorial than Guy Fizzano. He's the board president of the Delaware County Veterans Memorial Association and another of the people responsible for that marvelous edifice.
"Her contributions to her community were both immeasurable and far reaching," Fizzano said of Houldin. "Hers is a legacy of profound generosity."
She touched a lot of lives in this county, and planted new seeds of respect and knowledge about veterans issues with young people.
And she even managed to surprise on old newspaper editor.
Rest well, Linda.
Comments