Linda Reynen Memorial Celebration

My dear sister Linda died too soon, last November, at age 63. Here's a recent picture of her taken on a holiday in Portugal.

Her daughter Lisa, and her husband Peter, organized a celebration of Linda's life last weekend at Lakeside Terrace in Kincardine, Ontario -  their Bed & Breakfast on the shores of Lake Huron.

 Bill and I and more than 100 people gathered to celebrate a life well-lived. It was just the kind of gathering of friends and family that Linda would have loved to attend, so her absence was very apparent.

Lakeside Terrace slopes down to the shores of the lake. It is an idyllic holiday place.

Her husband, Peter, spoke very movingly of his friendship with Linda and their enduring love and partnership.

Her daughter, Lisa, shown here with her husband, Dave, and young son, Cooper, also spoke of her friendship with her mother, how they spoke every day and how regularly she misses her mother.

 Lisa and Peter scattered pictures of Linda around the large property.

 We gathered around them and remembered good times.

A young Linda commissioned this portrait of herself with her brothers in the late 1960's. That's me, second from the right, with the shoulder-length hair.

Bill and I didn't take pictures of the celebration because we were so deeply involved in it, as representatives of the family. Afterward, we went for a walk along the shoreline boardwalk, as Linda loved to do. Bill and I both love the sand dunes of Southern Ontario lakes.

We walked as far as Kincardine's famous lighthouse.

On the way back we sat for a while on the bench Linda's family has permanently added to the beach. Linda's favourite spot to sit is now being shared with everyone who passes by.