Dear callers, It is with great sadness that I pass on the message below. Her support of this community and to many of us as individuals cannot be overstated. She will be missed.
Seth > Begin forwarded message: > > > To the dance community: > > These are excerpts from a letter from Chris Ricciotti. > > It is with great sadness that I am passing on the news that Linda Leslie > passed away Sunday evening. 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
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