Jacqueline Marie Mills Linnekin

Jacqueline Marie Mills Linnekin, 84, died in her home, with her children at her side, on February 25, 2017. Jacqueline was born in San Diego on October 17, 1932 to Marjorie and James "Jimmy" Mills. Jimmy was a Navy pilot and graduate of the Naval Academy, Class of 1929. In 1944, her sister Patricia was born. After Pat's birth, her mother became seriously ill, so at age 12, Jacqueline did her school work from home and took care of her little sister for the next year. The two sisters grew to be extraordinarily close and remained so through Pat's death in 2014 at the age of 70. Jacqueline married Robert T. Rich, a Navy pilot in 1955. In 1957, months after the birth of their first child (Diana), she was widowed when his plane crashed. A year later she met Richard B. Linnekin, a Navy pilot and Naval Academy graduate (Class of 1944) and in 1959 they married. To mark this new phase in her life, she decided to go by her middle name, Marie instead of Jacqueline. Their son, Richard Jr. was born in 1960. Following in the family tradition on both his mother and father's side, Richard Jr. graduated from the Naval Academy in 1983 and became a Marine pilot. Marie was proud to be the daughter, wife and mother of four Naval Aviators. When Richard Sr. retired from the Navy in 1967, he and Marie moved to Annapolis. In addition to being amazing parents to their two children, they entertained, sailed, did photography together, traveled and most importantly, enjoyed each other's company. Marie had always been very interested in art and began to paint in the 1960's. Tackling this new frontier with typical energy and passion, she evolved into an outstanding and prolific artist. Her work was featured in galleries in the Annapolis, Baltimore, and Washington area for over 20 years. These included the Maryland Federation of Art, the Maryland Institute College of Art, the Anne Arundel Community College, the University of Maryland, as well as the Aurora, Cardinal, Touchstone, Canal House, Metropolitan Life, and Torpedo Factory Galleries. Marie also had work in the Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts, the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts and in Grace Hardigan's "Large Canvas Show". She was Artist in Residence at the Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts from 1989-1992. Her work sold well and her paintings are in homes, businesses and collections all over the country. A beautiful trio of her paintings still grace the lobby of the BWI Hilton. Her son Richard recently wrote¿ "Her work was the perfect manifestation of her spirit; complex, colorful, diverse and always surprising!" Marie taught elementary school in her youth and absolutely loved teaching. At age 50, she decided to merge her passion for art and teaching for the next phase of her life. Consequently, she returned to college, graduating from the Anne Arundel Community College in 1983 (AA degree in Fine Art), from Towson State University in 1985 (BS in Fine Art), and from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 1989 (Masters of Fine Art). She taught classes in painting, drawing, color and design at the Anne Arundel Community College from 1985-2003, receiving the "Excellence in Teaching" award during that time. Rather than using the same lesson plans from year to year, she was always updating, revamping and reworking her presentations in an attempt to best convey and confer her enthusiasm for the subject matter to her students. Relatively late in life she became a wiz with the program "Photo Shop" and true to form created breath-taking artwork using the computer. In the late 1990's she formed a critique group for artists which she held in her home, monthly, through 2014. Throughout her life she created imaginative, gorgeous "doodles" in her multitude of journals and sketchbooks that were always close at hand. Her ability to capture the beauty, challenges and complexities of life in her art was a hallmark of her life and remained so through her final days. Jacqueline Marie, is survived by Richard Sr., her loving husband of almost 58 years, two children, Diana and Richard Jr, his wife Jennifer and three grandchildren, Sarah Jane, Suzannah and Cole. Additional family includes her brother-in-law Mike Woodbury, two nieces, Lisa and Marjorie, and two nephews, Mike Jr. and Brian. She was a devoted, loving and beloved daughter, wife, mother, sister, aunt, grandmother, teacher and friend who lived each moment of her 84 years with passion, courage, strength, grace and humor. There will be a celebration to honor her life on April 20th, in the Leyte Gulf Room at the Naval Academy Club from 4-7 PM. Those planning to attend should RSVP to MariesMemorial@gmail.com for more information. In lieu of flowers, please send donations in Marie Linnekin's name to the Annual Fund for the Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts, 801 Chase St, Annapolis, MD 21401.