Linda von Bodecker Powers

Linda von Bodecker Powers

Linda von Bodecker Powers of Deerfield Farm in Fluvanna County, died peacefully at home surrounded by family and friends on Monday, August 1, 2009.

Linda was born in Hannover, Germany, on October 17, 1930, the daughter of Major General Karl A. von Bodecker and Charlotte Deckart.

Linda is survived by her husband, Joseph, of Deerfield Farm; two children, a son, John and his wife, Heather, of Washington, D.C., and daughter Patricia von Bodecker and her husband, Uwe Segelke of Kirchdorf, Germany; and four grandchildren, Cameron and Annika Powers and Christian and Timm von Bodecker. She is also survived by her brothers, Hans Georg von Bodecker and Gunter von Bodecker; and sisters Barbara von Bodecker and Brigitte Scharpf, all of Germany.

Following the death of her mother, Linda helped raise her younger siblings and developed an interest in nursing. Upon her father's remarriage to Elisabeth von Wolffersdorff, Linda attended nursing school in Hannover and Buckeburg, Germany, subsequently specializing in psychiatric nursing at the University of Hamburg. With a sense of curiosity and a love for travel and adventure, she also lived in Paris and studied at the Sorbonne, and lived in Italy and studied at the University of Padua.

After moving to Washington, D.C., and marrying, Linda volunteered at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, D.C. Later, after the birth of her son, she completed training as a Montessori teacher and taught at the Aquinas Montessori School in Mt. Vernon, Virginia. Upon her husband's retirement from the Department of Defense in 1989, she moved with her husband to the family farm in Fluvanna County.

Linda became active in the community, participating in many organizations including the Christian Service Society, the Wilmington Club, Master Gardeners, and the Carysbrook branch of the Monticello Area Community Action Agency (MACCA). She also served as a docent for the Fluvanna County Historical Society's museum in the Old Jail in Palmyra. A firm believer in education and the importance of reading, she became a member of the Board of the Fluvanna County Public Library and reveled in the construction and completion of the new Library. She was a life-long animal lover and supported Caring for Creatures and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA). She attended Lyles Baptist Church in Wilmington.

A celebration service is planned for 2 p.m. Sunday, November 1, 2009, at the Fluvanna County Public Library.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that friends consider celebrating her life with a contribution to the Fluvanna County Public Library, Caring for Creatures, MACCA, SPCA, or Hospice of the Piedmont.

The family wishes to thank the many friends and neighbors who shared prayers and fellowship over the past year as well as the caring nurses from Hospice of the Piedmont.


This obituary was originally published in the Daily Progress.