Photos and article by Mary Alice Murphy

On a sunny, breezy June Saturday afternoon, many friends of Linda Gray, who recently and unexpectedly passed from this life, gathered in the courtyard of the Silver City Museum to honor and praise Linda and her volunteer work with several non-profit organizations in Silver City.

Silver City Museum Director Bart Roselli said he had worked with her for the past five years. "I knew her as a volunteer. She had a great sense of humor, sarcastic and sardonic. I had a lot of fun chatting with her. She did a little bit of everything, except windows."

Kam Zarrabi, Linda's husband spoke next. "After 25 years of her being my better half, her passing has left a huge hole in my heart." He said they moved to Silver City in 2009, and a year later, she worked at the Chamber of Commerce, then the Mimbres Region Arts Council and all the other organizations that she could help. "She had a tag on her purse that said': 'May you be proud of the work you do, the person you are and the difference you make.' This crazy world would be better off if there were more Lindas."

Ken Dayer, Silver City Library Director, said he met Linda when she joined the Friends of the Library (FOL). "Since she came, 3,469 youths, adults and children have participated in various library programs. It shows what a difference one person can make. She and I would talk about the other organizations she worked with. I was new to town and she helped me understand the community."

Jeannie Miller, FOL Board co-chair, said she was representing the board. "FOL provides funding to the library for many programs. The book sales raise the money from selling the donated books we receive. I received an email from Frost McGahey, who worked with Linda for years. She asked me to read her message, as she would miss the celebration of life."

"Linda's encouragement kept our Friends of the Library group going when other FOL groups were folding around the country," McGahey said in her message. "I joined because Linda was president. She was a rock of strength, and I will miss her."

Miller said when Linda stepped down as president, she remained as membership chairman. "She was the creator of the flyers for the book sales. She was a greeter at the gate. Her accomplishments were many. I've been thinking about what a best friend means. A best friend loves you, likes you, and you can depend on her even when you're way off base on something and a best friend lets you know it. Being a best friend allows for expansion, with no jealousy of other best friends. A best friend is always there for you when you need them."

She noted that Linda always expected an instant response to any message. "She was a taskmaster, and we disagreed on punctuation. We would have lunch at the Little Toad. I adored and loved Linda. She was smart and intelligent. I see her floating above the ground. She always struck me as luminous with a hint of gossamer. Shalom, Linda, may you rest in peace."

Manda Jost of Mimbres Region Arts Council said it was hard to find words. "Linda was described as the heart and soul of MRAC. She was the glue holding it together. She was like a Greek oracle. She always knew where records were. She was instrumental in bringing the Blues Festival back to multiple days. Her passing right before it this year was like having a hard drive crash. We decided to dedicate this year's Blues Festival to her. She was on top of so many things. Yes, she was a taskmaster. She came to MRAC in 2012. When Covid came, MRAC almost folded, but thanks to Linda and Melody (Collins, museum store manager), they took care of it. Linda was on the payroll, but she took herself off and became a volunteer. Melody said Linda read murder mysteries, played piano and sang. She had a master's in biochemistry. She had a lot of depth. She was instrumental with the Blues Festival, Chocolate Fantasia, the Print Fiesta and Pickamania, as well as the artist in residence program and the Guatemalan Mercado. Champagne was her thing. She greatly appreciated and led everyone in MRAC. We can't overemphasize how much we appreciated her."

Stephen Lindsey, who has worked with Linda on the Blues Festival, thanked everyone "for coming to remember Linda. About five to six months every year we would share her office to plan the Blues Festival. Linda was a colleague, a mentor and a friend. I loved our times together. This year we had done so much to build up the Blues Festival. I'm sure she would have been proud of us. I wanted her to be there to show her what we could do with her leadership and yes, her nagging. We always had many challenges, but at the end of the day, she would say: 'I love you and see you tomorrow.' She was a force to be reckoned with, but she was always someone we could rely on. I respected her. and we were proud to dedicate the Blues Festival to her. How much I and our community will miss you, Linda."

Roselli asked anyone in attendance to speak about how much Linda meant to them.

Cissy McAndrew said: "She always nurtured my sponsorship. She wanted to make sure I was happy with what was going on with my sponsorship. I started doing an Indie Folk series, but Covid stopped it."

Alexandra Tager read a comment from Faye McCalmont, who, as MRAC director, worked for many years with Linda. "Linda held things together for a lot of organizations. She gave her time and talents and kept MRAC going. She had common sense. I miss her greatly. Thank you, Linda, for your faithful friendship. She really cared about me as a person and would ask me about my daughter. Linda was always there with her assistance and care. I'm going to miss her."

Ted Presler said she was involved in many non-profits, including the Southwest Word Fiesta. "We held our 10th last year. I adored Linda. I always tried to recruit her for the the Word Fiesta and she always said: 'Next year.' We had tremendous laughs in our conversations on the meaning of the word, gray. I remember the message I got from her on April 17, 2018, and many of you might have gotten the same message: 'Hi, Ted. I don't know if you would be interested in helping with the Blues Festival. I hope I hear from you. You might get a free T-shirt.' I replied: 'I'll be there.'"

Virginia LeBaron, who with five of her children, had driven from Casa Grandes, Chihuahua, Mexico, to attend the celebration of life for Linda, had known Linda since 1992 when they met in San Diego, CA. "I had a severely disabled child, and five other children. I needed help. I put out an ad for help. She answered the ad, and became part of the family. All my children, and I have 12 now, called her Aunt Linda. She was my right hand. We became dear friends. She knew every single birthday. Linda attended everything at school that was important for my children. She made each of us feel special. After we moved from San Diego, I had six more children. She taught all my little girls to be ladies and my boys to be gentlemen. I am so, so thankful for all she did for us. My friend, please forgive me for not reaching out to you more often, for all you taught us, my 12 children and 33 grandchildren. She was a true angel. Kam, you are so blessed to have had an angel in your life."

An unidentified woman said she had Linda to herself at the museum every Thursday for four hours to chat. "Kam, you were the most important person in her life. Her love for you was complete. We discussed quesadillas in great detail. I called her friend. She would give me counsel, and she was also very take it or leave it. Thank you, Linda for being in my life. She loved this community so much and she gave it her all."

Ron, who volunteered at MRAC with Faye and continued, said: "Linda's pet peeve was that the Blues Festival was not two days. Linda was a stellar human being, selfless and always giving. What a beautiful human being she was."

Dayer LeBaron said: "She has been our aunt for more than 32 years. My mother is Virginia LeBaron. Linda equaled kindness. She demonstrated that her entire life. I first met her when I was 7 years old. She was instantly part of our family as Aunt Linda. The moment she meets you, she makes you part of her life. I regret not being able to talk to her and hug her before she left us. A white butterfly is our sign to know she is in a good place as part of our guardian angels. She is the best and is now with the best because of her kindness. I got married 12 years ago and I now have four children. I wish I had seen her recently. When your heart tells you to do something, do it, before it's too late. Our greatest privilege was to have Thanksgiving and Christmas with her every year. It humbles and honors me that she mentored me. I should have made the effort to visit her. I'm sorry, Aunt Linda."

Teresa Dahl-Bredine, co-owner of the Little Toad restaurant and bar in downtown Silver City, said: "We worked together so much. She came to the Toad quite often. She paid 100s of dollars in tips for my laid-off staff during the pandemic. Her generosity and kindness were unending. She will be missed by me."

Kam Zarrabi said: "We have heard about her dry sense of humor. I loved to go walking at Boston Hill. I'm 10 years older. She encouraged me to walk, but she always worried about me, and asked me to call her to let her know I was OK. I always did. I've been trekking since her passing, and I reach for my phone to call her and let her know I'm OK, but I'm not OK."

He said that Linda had lost hearing totally in her right ear some years ago, and "I'm, because of my age, also hard of hearing. I'm almost 90. One day, I walked out with a plate of eggs, and I asked her if she would like to share my eggs. Her reply was: 'Why should I shave my legs?" Kam said to great laughter.

Crystal Cragin, one of the LeBaron daughters, spoke. "I was 8 years old when Linda came to our family. Her hugs and love saved us. I want to tell her thank you for everything. She loved me dearly and unconditionally, as she did everyone she knew and worked with."

Manda Jost said Linda had loved champagne, so glasses of champagne, Linda's favorite champagne, were handed around for people to toast Linda. "Let us raise a glass to Linda."

[Author's Note: I considered Linda a friend, not as close as many who spoke at this event. I knew her mostly through her volunteer work at Mimbres Region Arts Council and the Silver City Friends of the Library. She unfailingly sent notices of events of the organizations to the Beat, so that we could post them. I never had to worry about getting the information. In my opinion, she was the glue that held them together. And I was thrilled to see a photo of her, because she would never let me take her picture. If I lifted my camera, her hand popped up in front of her face. Linda will be missed by many in our community, especially Kam, who writes a column for the Beat, Just Thinking.]

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