Hartford, CT, Connecticut
OSTEN, Linda Linda Osten, a truly remarkable woman who was a loyal champion of Greater Hartford, a city planner, community organizer, gardener and a tireless inspiration to her family and to her many friends and colleagues, passed away Thursday (December 20, 2007), at her historic home on Charter Oak Place in Hartford. She was born in Norwich, daughter of James Manley Osten and Patricia Ann (Kelly) Osten on December 29, 1957. Linda was involved in her family business before receiving her Master's degree from URI in Community Planning. She worked in the community planning field since 1996 at the Capitol Region Council of Governments, Hartford as a Principal Planner. She had taken on the position of Chief Operating Officer at the Mutual Housing Association of Greater Hartford in March, 2007. Linda served on the Board of Directors at the Bushnell Park Foundation, The Hartford Botanical Garden and was president of The Sheldon-Charter Oak Neighborhood Revitalization Zone Committee (CSS/CON.) Linda was a tireless champion of making Greater Hartford a livable region for everyone. We will all miss her advocacy, vision and her practical solutions for solving the region's most pressing issues. She leaves her beloved partner and biggest fan, Lynn Ferrari, her mother Patricia, her sisters, Catherine Osten, Ellen Osten and her partner Bruce Gherke, Mary Osten and her partner Dale Williams, Patricia Osten and her husband Gary Urbinati, Sarah Dobkowski and her husband Thomas, her brother James Osten and his wife Patricia, her brother-in-law, David Ferrari, several aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins and friends. She leaves behind for all of us her life's work to carry on her passion for making Hartford a great city again. A celebration of Linda's life will be held, December 29, 12 p.m. (Noon) at the Polish National Home, 60 Charter Oak Ave. Hartford, A Memorial Mass of Christian Burial will be held Wednesday, January 2, 2008, 11 a.m. in Sacred Heart Church, 52 West Town St. Norwich. Contributions in her memory may be made to: Helen and Harry Gray Cancer Ctr. 85 Retreat Ave. Hartford, CT 06106 or CSS/CON, 34 Sequassen Ave. Hartford, CT 06106. To share a memory with the family, please visit, www.dillonbaxter.com.
Read MoreI Attended Norwich Free Academy with Linda. It was knowing Linda and the Often family that changed my life. it was because of Linda's concern for another that I came to live with the Osten family until graduating high school in 1976. I am forever indebted. My deepest condolences to the Osten family.
Victoria Job/Garza
November 03, 2014 | 13953 Jibstay Street Corpus , TX
I know this is stupid, but last night I stood in your kitchen cutting up bread for stuffing - I missed you so much! All those years for making Thankgiving dinner for your family along side you - I surely do miss that. Yep, your family - at least 24 of them are
coming for dinner on Thursday. Ginny is wonderful, but she's not the entertainer/chef you were. It's a little scary - but we'll do okay - especially since you will be guiding us along.
...more than all the stars.
November 22, 2011
It's been three years - and I still miss you every day.
Almost daily, I pick up the paper and read about a project or smart growth concept that you were immersed in and know that if you could, you would still be here plugging away at it - making life better for us all. Thankfully, there are some people, like Tom Condon, still working at it. I just know that we could be further ahead with you working your magic.
. . . "more than all the stars"
December 21, 2010
cathy osten
April 14, 2010 | Baltic, CT
Dear Lynn and Linda's Mom,
The last time I talked to Linda was in June of 2007. I was deeply saddened to hear the news of her passing. Linda and I became friends while taking classes in the graduate program at URI and then she worked briefly at the URI Urban Field Center while in graduate school. Linda was an awesome person and an amazing woman! We had many long discussions about social justice, women's rights, and human rights. She respectfully listened, always maintained...
Gayla Gazerro
February 03, 2009 | East Providence, RI
Nine months have gone by without Linda by my side. I miss her voice, I miss our lives, and I miss her caring, enthusiasm for life and pursuit of social justice - but she is with me in my heart and soul - forever.
Lynn Ferrari
September 15, 2008 | Hartford, CT
Dear Lynn and Osten family – my memories of Linda go back many years when she working the grill at the Patti O when I lived in Norwich. I went in almost every weekend for breakfast and we chatted about her graduate work at URI and my job as a town planner. That was over 15 years ago – I was immediately moved by her kindness and insatiable interest in planning issues. I continued to connect with Linda mostly through professional functions as our careers evolved in planning in Connecticut. ...
Karen Johnson
June 24, 2008 | Arlington, MA
Lynn and the Osten family, I hope you are all doing well and have received comfort from the beautiful expressions of love and respect that have being sent to you during this time of great loss.
Working with Linda was a great pleasure and a great life learning experience. She helped us all understand what being committed to a cause and giving of yourself for the benefit of others was. She accomplished that by providing a model of the highest order of civic behavior. We all owe so much...
Kerry Colvin, Ph.D.
May 28, 2008 | Bakersfield, CA
Lynn, I would like to share my condolenses to you and your family. Linda was such a great woman, everytime I saw her she was outside in the garden. She always had a smile on her face and was such a joy to know.
Precious/Buishi
Precious Holmes
May 28, 2008 | Hartford, CT