Linda Goodrich Houston, aged 71, passed away July 28 at Samaritan Evergreen Hospice in Albany with her husband, David Feinberg, at her side. Born March 17, 1952 in Princeton, New Jersey, she was the daughter of Benjamin Franklin Houston and Mary Goodrich Houston.
Linda grew up in Princeton and Hamden, Connecticut, but spent every summer at her grandparents summer home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. The house, known as “Sandy Bottoms,” has seven bedrooms and a sleeping porch which accommodated the extended families. Linda loved the beach, the wildlife and the natural beauty of the shore. Like the piping plovers that come there to nest she returned nearly every summer. She would walk the beach at sunrise searching for shells and sea glass.
Linda attended Foote School in New Haven, Connecticut, graduated from Princeton High in 1970, and attended Windham College in Vermont. Later in life, she attended Oregon State University where she earned a 4.0 GPA. She was unable to complete her degree as she traveled back east to help care for her mother who was suffering from Alzheimer’s.
In 1975, Linda traveled to Corvallis to visit a close friend and ended up staying. In 1976, she met her future husband while they were both working at a small café called The Garden of Eatin’. They lived together in Wren and Corvallis before moving to a cabin in Blodgett in 1978. More recently they moved to a larger home not far away. Linda loved living at “The Chipmunk Ranch,” secluded and surrounded by nature, good neighbors and her beloved hydrangeas.
Linda was a master floral designer and managed the floral shop at Shonnard’s and made it the success it is today. She went on to work at Grass Roots Bookstore where she ordered gifts, and designed and crafted imaginative window displays.
Linda was a gift giver and had a knack of finding (or making) the perfect gift. She recorded everyone’s birthday and other important dates, and always sent a card or called them. She made quilts for the births of all the children of her niece and nephews. Christmas time was a special favorite with elaborate stocking gifts. She was always giving gifts to family, friends, neighbors and the people who helped her. She had good friends, but she got to know everyone she came into contact with. Family was so important to her, and she was the de facto curator of the family past.
Linda was a voracious reader and would fix on a subject and read a half dozen relevant books to satisfy her curiosity and expand her knowledge. She was an organizer. Even though she was ill, by phone Linda organized her mother’s July 22nd Delaware funeral service. She was a hard worker and attacked projects with indefatigable energy whether at work, home or school.
Linda is survived by her husband, David Feinberg of Blodgett, Oregon; brother, Scott Houston of Morristown, New Jersey; sister, Wendy Brown (husband Keith) of Rowayton, Connecticut; niece, Elizabeth Brown (wife Courtney) of Rowayton; and nephews, Alex Brown (wife Jessica) of Hillsdale, New Jersey, and Jon Brown (wife Marissa) of Rowayton. She also leaves behind four grandnieces, two grandnephews and seven cousins.
A remembrance service will be held 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023 at the Summit Grange, 19854 Summit Highway, Blodgett, Oregon. A service will also be held in Delaware next summer, the date to be announced.