Early one September morning in 1969 I was first introduced to Linda Riniker, a soft-spoken blonde with a big heart expressed by her ever cheerful smile. Within a week or so she was elected chair of 9S5, our mutual homeroom. I admired her kind spirit. I was taken with her friendly attitude and it was clear from the start, she was a warm to all.
It wasn’t till four years later, we crossed paths again on DVC’s campus and we would initiate a life long friendship. My first ever “vacation” as an adult would be with Linda. We chose that summer to go up the west coast to Oregon, over to Crater Lake and finally attend the Oregon Shakespeare festival in Ashland. She had her little Ford ranger pickup and I borrowed my uncle’s canvas tent. We saw Romeo and Juliet. On the way home we got lost. I mean REALLY lost… somewhere in the mountains between Ashland and northern California. I was certain they were going to have to send the Boy Scouts out looking for us. Four hours later, and with barely any gas, we found civilization again in Yreka, CA. Neither of us panicked. We were just grateful to have that adventure behind us and would forever remind each other “Ashland – 12 mi” on a gravel road was not a path to take.
Linda came from a large family. Her Iowa native parents had come to CA not long after she was born and shared their home with several adopted children as well as any number of foster kids. But Linda, and little sister, Robin, would be the only girls in the group. Linda was at the top of the heap. Her home was always a welcome place to land.
Two years later, we would go different ways. I was off to a four-year college and Linda, out of nowhere, decided to join the Army. Her basic training would take her east. Shortly after finishing basic, she thought (her words), “I’m a pacifist. I can’t carry a gun and shoot someone.” She exited the army and found herself stranded in Pennsylvania. Having no job, she found one with the State of Pennsylvania. What she did exactly, I couldn’t tell you but I do recall she worked there long enough to draw retirement. It might have been 20 years. Oh heck, probably it was more like 30 because I think she finally left PA in the early 2000’s.
During her time on the east coast, our contact was minimal, but at least once a year, around Christmas, I could count on a phone call from Linda. Where I had been married and had a family, she remained single. At times, it felt a bit strained trying to relate to her, but once again, her cheery, warm personality shown through and by the end of the call, I was very happy she had reached out.
Not long after her retirement, she called to say she was headed back to the west coast. Her dreams of coming “home” were finally coming true. She was very anxious to return. She and her friend, Bev, would finally land in Ojai, near Santa Barbara. As she told me, “I once passed thru Santa Barbara andfound it to be absolutely beautiful.” We all know SB is beautiful, but very expensive! Bev and Linda stayed there for about a year and then she declared she’d had enough and was finally coming back to her real home, Lafayette.
It was probably about 2005 when she finally came north, alone, and found a nice little studio in WC. Our friendship was such that even though all those years had gone by, we picked up right where we’d left off. Linda’s loves were writing, theatre, art and literature. She often asked me to join her at a film, play or concert. Never would it be a musical! She did have standards!
A year or two later she mentioned she was having difficulty driving. She had a hard time staying oriented. This bothered her so much she left the studio and moved in with a friend in WC. While living there, a nurse friend suggested she get checked out. She called me the next day and shared that after arriving at the John Muir ER, she was admitted and tests were run. She had a brain tumor! She also had stage 4 lung cancer. She was calling me just after they had performed brain surgery.
Linda never smoked a day in her life. She was eating health foods and was a whole foods fanatic before any of that was fashionable. Lung Cancer? Seriously? Best we could surmise was she spent many years as a teenager working for her father building vinyl pool covers. Could that be the culprit?
As with all challenges in Linda’s life, the lung cancer diagnosis was just another hurdle to conquer. Being only in her mid-50’s and not ready to cash it in, she fought hard. About a year and a half into her diagnosis she went on a year long “trial” medication that bloated her up, gave her a nasty body rash and of course, removed all her hair! Through it all, Linda never stopped doing and living. When she finally was off the trial meds, her body went back to “normal” and she was determined more than ever to keep giving of herself to others. She volunteered at the library and a number of other charitable organizations.
In early February of 2015, while in CA I visited Linda in Lafayette. We met for coffee and had a great visit. Just before leaving she gently noted “I get test results this week. I’m afraid they won’t be good”. As I exited, I hugged her and said “good bye”. She said, “I won’t say good bye, I refuse to say good bye”. In August, I got a phone call from her brother, Joe. Linda was gone.
I will be forever grateful for Linda’s presence in my life. She taught me so much. She enriched my life with her love for the arts. I know she wrote voraciously but sadly was never brave enough to share her writings with me. If I have any one regret, it’s those many years of writings are lost to the wind. Much like Linda, they are never to been seen again, but just the knowledge she / they once existed brings joy to my heart.
Karen - thank you SO much for sharing such a beautiful story about your and Linda's friendship over many years! It brought back a memory when Linda and I were paired up in a Theology class and she confided in me that she had a brain tumor, then of course, we both cried! I remember her being out for quite some time after that surgery but she pulled through. Not hardly fair someone should have to go through that twice in a lifetime! I hope you are resting in peace dear Linda! God bless you!
Kathleen Magee (Dieker)
Memories from Karen Serke:
Early one September morning in 1969 I was first introduced to Linda Riniker, a soft-spoken blonde with a big heart expressed by her ever cheerful smile. Within a week or so she was elected chair of 9S5, our mutual homeroom. I admired her kind spirit. I was taken with her friendly attitude and it was clear from the start, she was a warm to all.
It wasn’t till four years later, we crossed paths again on DVC’s campus and we would initiate a life long friendship. My first ever “vacation” as an adult would be with Linda. We chose that summer to go up the west coast to Oregon, over to Crater Lake and finally attend the Oregon Shakespeare festival in Ashland. She had her little Ford ranger pickup and I borrowed my uncle’s canvas tent. We saw Romeo and Juliet. On the way home we got lost. I mean REALLY lost… somewhere in the mountains between Ashland and northern California. I was certain they were going to have to send the Boy Scouts out looking for us. Four hours later, and with barely any gas, we found civilization again in Yreka, CA. Neither of us panicked. We were just grateful to have that adventure behind us and would forever remind each other “Ashland – 12 mi” on a gravel road was not a path to take.
Linda came from a large family. Her Iowa native parents had come to CA not long after she was born and shared their home with several adopted children as well as any number of foster kids. But Linda, and little sister, Robin, would be the only girls in the group. Linda was at the top of the heap. Her home was always a welcome place to land.
Two years later, we would go different ways. I was off to a four-year college and Linda, out of nowhere, decided to join the Army. Her basic training would take her east. Shortly after finishing basic, she thought (her words), “I’m a pacifist. I can’t carry a gun and shoot someone.” She exited the army and found herself stranded in Pennsylvania. Having no job, she found one with the State of Pennsylvania. What she did exactly, I couldn’t tell you but I do recall she worked there long enough to draw retirement. It might have been 20 years. Oh heck, probably it was more like 30 because I think she finally left PA in the early 2000’s.
During her time on the east coast, our contact was minimal, but at least once a year, around Christmas, I could count on a phone call from Linda. Where I had been married and had a family, she remained single. At times, it felt a bit strained trying to relate to her, but once again, her cheery, warm personality shown through and by the end of the call, I was very happy she had reached out.
Not long after her retirement, she called to say she was headed back to the west coast. Her dreams of coming “home” were finally coming true. She was very anxious to return. She and her friend, Bev, would finally land in Ojai, near Santa Barbara. As she told me, “I once passed thru Santa Barbara andfound it to be absolutely beautiful.” We all know SB is beautiful, but very expensive! Bev and Linda stayed there for about a year and then she declared she’d had enough and was finally coming back to her real home, Lafayette.
It was probably about 2005 when she finally came north, alone, and found a nice little studio in WC. Our friendship was such that even though all those years had gone by, we picked up right where we’d left off. Linda’s loves were writing, theatre, art and literature. She often asked me to join her at a film, play or concert. Never would it be a musical! She did have standards!
A year or two later she mentioned she was having difficulty driving. She had a hard time staying oriented. This bothered her so much she left the studio and moved in with a friend in WC. While living there, a nurse friend suggested she get checked out. She called me the next day and shared that after arriving at the John Muir ER, she was admitted and tests were run. She had a brain tumor! She also had stage 4 lung cancer. She was calling me just after they had performed brain surgery.
Linda never smoked a day in her life. She was eating health foods and was a whole foods fanatic before any of that was fashionable. Lung Cancer? Seriously? Best we could surmise was she spent many years as a teenager working for her father building vinyl pool covers. Could that be the culprit?
As with all challenges in Linda’s life, the lung cancer diagnosis was just another hurdle to conquer. Being only in her mid-50’s and not ready to cash it in, she fought hard. About a year and a half into her diagnosis she went on a year long “trial” medication that bloated her up, gave her a nasty body rash and of course, removed all her hair! Through it all, Linda never stopped doing and living. When she finally was off the trial meds, her body went back to “normal” and she was determined more than ever to keep giving of herself to others. She volunteered at the library and a number of other charitable organizations.
In early February of 2015, while in CA I visited Linda in Lafayette. We met for coffee and had a great visit. Just before leaving she gently noted “I get test results this week. I’m afraid they won’t be good”. As I exited, I hugged her and said “good bye”. She said, “I won’t say good bye, I refuse to say good bye”. In August, I got a phone call from her brother, Joe. Linda was gone.
I will be forever grateful for Linda’s presence in my life. She taught me so much. She enriched my life with her love for the arts. I know she wrote voraciously but sadly was never brave enough to share her writings with me. If I have any one regret, it’s those many years of writings are lost to the wind. Much like Linda, they are never to been seen again, but just the knowledge she / they once existed brings joy to my heart.
Patricia Morris (Plise)
A beautiful tribute to your dear friend and our classmate.
Nevada Blair
Karen - thank you SO much for sharing such a beautiful story about your and Linda's friendship over many years! It brought back a memory when Linda and I were paired up in a Theology class and she confided in me that she had a brain tumor, then of course, we both cried! I remember her being out for quite some time after that surgery but she pulled through. Not hardly fair someone should have to go through that twice in a lifetime! I hope you are resting in peace dear Linda! God bless you!