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Linda Taylor Barnes, 68
From her memorial service at Perdue University
IN MEMORIAM
Linda Barnes is survived by her husband, her brother, her three sons, and
by granddaughter Taylor Abigail Barnes and grandson Thomas Curtis
Barnes (parents are Jeff and Jaime Pew Barnes), and by grandson Ryan Lee
Edwards Barnes (parents are Dan and Kalah Auchincloss Barnes), and by the
"Cranberry cousins", extended families of her two first cousins Elizabeth Cole
Hamill and Katharine Cole Esty with whom she shared the beloved summer
place on Cranberry Lake in the New York Adirondack wilderness.
She had the gift of laughter, the talents of a superb story-teller, and a radiant
smile that won many hearts. Linda did things well, intensely and efficiently,
was truly a supermom, was a superb correspondent and communicator, was the
main impetus for a number of elegant improvements to our house and garden,
wrote and published novels, loved skiing and did it well, and the list goes on
and on. She had a good eye and a sense of style and savoir vivre, and a terrific
memory for people, names, events and places. The hostess with the mostest,
Linda could be hilarious, and was always lively and entertaining.
She was a strong-willed woman, with great inner strength and self-discipline,
and with a dedication to service to family and the community. In her last year
she was uncomplaining, and bore adversity with fortitude, style, grace and
humor. Linda’s vitality was always remarkable, and survived through most of
her fourteen month battle with cancer.
Linda was always beautiful, in person and in spirit. She will be sorely missed, and she lives on vibrantly in our loving memories
Linda Taylor Barnes, 68, of West Lafayette, Indiana died on Sunday afternoon, July 3, 2011, at her home following a fourteen month battle with brain cancer.
Born June 17, 1943, in New York City, she was the daughter of Turney Allan Taylor and Lois Dwight Cole.
She married Virgil Barnes on December 19, 1970, in New York City.
Linda attended Bradford Junior College ’63 and Wheaton College ’65 in Massachusetts. She worked in New York City in publishing, and, briefly, in motion pictures at Palomar Productions. She was an editorial assistant at the publishing houses Atheneum and Farrar Strauss and Giroux, and was managing editor of Harpers Magazine Press.
After marrying, she moved to West Lafayette. During her early years here she was a member of Theatre Arts, a women’s group dedicated to performing plays for children. She was for many years president of the West Lafayette White Sharks age-group swim club. She was a board member of the Tippecanoe County Chamber Music Society, the West Lafayette Public Library Foundation, and the Wabash Trust for Historic Preservation, as well as a member of the Parlor Club and the Monday Club.
She published two historical romance novels under the nom de plume “Lisa Beaumont” and was working on other novels, as well as on a book based on correspondence from a long friendship between her mother and Margaret Mitchell (author of “Gone With the Wind”).
Linda’s parents were introduced to each other in Atlanta by Mitchell. Linda’s mother, Lois Cole, was an editor at MacMillan & Co. and was the key agent in their acquisition of “Gone With the Wind”.
An avid and fast skier, Linda was also a spirited and vivacious conversationalist with many anecdotes. She had a fabulous sense of humor and a wonderful and ready laugh, was a superb cook, a lover of travel both foreign and domestic, and had a special love for her family summer home in the wilderness on Cranberry Lake in the Adirondacks
She is survived by her husband and three sons, Chris Barnes of Mountain View, Calif., Jeff Barnes of Maplewood, New Jersey, and Dan Barnes of Washington, D.C.; her brother T. Allan Taylor of Los Angeles, Calif.; and by granddaughter Taylor and grandsons Thomas and Ryan.
A memorial service celebrating Linda’s life was held in Lafayette at Duncan Hall on August 21. Links to the program and the slideshow of that service are:
http://www.physics.purdue.edu/~barnes/MemProgram.pdf
http://www.physics.purdue.edu/~barnes/MemPhotos.zip
From Maria Mather
Sad news - Linda died Sunday, July 3. Linda is one of the few people from MHS that I've stayed in touch with. She was my college room mate, my maid of honor, and a hugely wonderful friend since we were 15. I've known about her struggle with glioblastoma since it started 14 months ago, and have kept my breath held and my fingers crossed, hoping against the inevitable. We were able to correspond until several months ago, and then, alas, the roller coaster really took off.
From Linda's husband Virgil.
"Dear ones,
Linda was still dining socially last Tuesday; still the dessert gourmand on Thursday; entered formal hospice at home Friday afternoon, and breathed her last in my arms Sunday afternoon. Glioblastoma can be swift and terrible. It's been a long hard fight, but she was in the game and enjoying it to a degree until almost the very last. The void she leaves in our lives is vast.
All best,
Virgil
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Lynne Bowie (Dillingham)
This summer I read a review of a book about the letters exchanged by Margaret Mitchell and her editor. I had no idea this was Linda's mother. The article spoke of the close relationship between Margaret Mitchell and Lois Cole's children. Linda was much loved.
Lynne Dillingham