Linda Ann Reuther

1942 - 2013

Coming full circle, Linda Ann Reuther passed away at Zen Hospice of San Francisco on Sept. 20, 2013, at the age of 71. She was surrounded by sunflowers, love and she had a smile on her face.
She was born Aug. 24, 1942, the first child of Walter P. and May Wolf Reuther of Detroit. Walter P. Reuther was an ardent labor leader and the founder of the UAW. Linda grew up in Detroit and environs, attending high school at Putney School in Vermont, and later graduating from the University of Michigan with a degree in education.
She moved to San Francisco in 1965 and worked as a Head Start teacher in Hunter's Point as well as a waitress and a flower girl at the Spaghetti Factory. Her great pleasure in handing out flowers continued for the rest of her life.
Following the untimely death of both her parents in a plane crash in 1970, Linda left teaching and began following her extraordinary talent for recognizing and creating beauty. A very special passion was for antique quilts. "They represent the fabric of our lives," she often said of her beloved quilts.
Linda collected and assembled quilts as early as 1965. Along with her childhood friend, Julie Silber, she opened a quilt store in Marin County, curated museum shows, and simply immersed herself in the world of quilts. Linda lived in San Anselmo for 25 years.
Linda had many passions, a major one of which was music. She relished her participation in the women's percussion band, "Sistah Boom," with whom she marched in Washington, D.C. for women's and LGBT rights. She was delighted to sing in the Mendocino Women's Choir and Mendocino Music Festival. She was proud to have started the "Heartbeats," a percussion group she assembled in Albion to march on International Women's Day.
Linda was passionate about many socially progressive causes and about the environment. She dearly loved all four legged friends.
She studied with anthropologist Angeles Arrien, whose work inspired the next part of Linda's life. In 1997, at the age of 55, she moved to Albion to create a retreat center. Linda called it "Heart and Hands." She always said that her vision for healing and inspiration came directly from her grandmother, Anna Reuther.
Between 1996 and 2009, hundreds of people came to Hearts and Hands to be restored through writing, yoga, meditation, movement and Womenclan workshops. They felt welcomed and sheltered by Linda's inimitable style and the bountiful beauty and sense of abundance she had created in what has been described by many as "the quintessential home."
Linda is survived by her aunt, Christine Reuther Richey, and her uncle, Gene Richey; her only sister, Elisabeth Reuther Dickmeyer; her brother-in-law, Bruce Dickmeyer; her beloved niece, May Reuther Silva; her sweet great-nephew, Jonah Sol; her nephews, Walter Dickmeyer and Victor Reuther; her cousins, Valerie Reuther, Sasha Reuther and many other cousins; her life-long pal, Julie Silber; and her life companion, Michele Tellier of Albion.
She will be deeply missed by her very large circle of friends and her dog, Annie.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Friends of Hospice of the Northern Mendocino Coast, or to a charity of your choice.
A memorial potluck in Linda's honor to share stories and to remember Linda will be held at Hearts and hands on "F" Road in Albion, at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2013. Please bring a potluck dish or beverage, any seating you require, and your sense of humor.