Linda Decker Eckhardt

Linda Decker Eckhardt of Northampton, Pennsylvania, passed away on January 31, 2024, with her sister Peggy by her side. She was preceded by her father, Charles Decker, Sr., her mother, Bernice (Dobbins) Decker, and her brother, Charles Decker, Jr. Linda is survived by her husband, Brian Eckhardt; her son, Michael Macioce and his partner Alicja Zmigrodzka; her daughter, Lauren Macioce and her husband Oscar Solarte; her step-daughters, Amanda Stem and Jennifer Eckhardt; her sister, Peggy McCormick; her granddaughters, Isabella and Gianna Macioce and Michaela and Luna Solarte; her grandsons, Garrett and Wyatt Stem; and her nieces and nephews, Betsey Walters, Dean McCormick, Kelly Decker, Shannon Aquino, Kristi McCormick, and Timothy McCormick.
Linda will be cherished and remembered for her great warmth, her endless dedication to her family, and her fierce determination in all things. She put her whole heart into every endeavor, both personal and professional.
Linda was born Linda Lee Decker on March 30, 1945 in East Orange, New Jersey, the second child and eldest daughter of Charles and Bernice. At age 11, she moved with her family to rural Califon, New Jersey. Her sister Peggy was, from the time they were little girls, her best friend and constant companion. Linda often told stories about their childhood games and escapades, which frequently featured the family's many animals, including their dog, Ranger, their goat, Sylvester, their five chickens, Eeny, Meenie, Miny, Moe and Me Too, and their many birds, rabbits, and cats.
After graduating from North Hunterdon Regional High School in 1963, Linda earned a nursing degree in 1966 from Somerset Hospital School of Nursing in Somerville, NJ. She loved to regale her family with tales of the camaraderie she enjoyed with her friends from nursing school and her work as a nurse, during which she helped to deliver hundreds of babies, including ten on her own. Ambitious and unstoppable, Linda went back to school later in life to become a doctor. She earned her MD from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in 1992 and, following a brief stint in radiology, spent her professional career as a family practitioner. Linda brooked no nonsense when it came to doctors who cared only about numbers and profits; she was a true caregiver who believed in spending time with her patients, listening and tending to all aspects of their health, and she upheld these principles throughout her career as a physician.
Of all of her accomplishments, Linda was most proud of being a mother. She brought her children up with a sense of love and wonder for the world and the belief that we all must do something to make the world a better place. She lovingly chronicled this era of her life from behind a manual camera, eventually teaching herself to develop the photographs in her own darkroom. The joy that Linda found in motherhood ignited a love that will forever be sustained and carried forward in the hearts of her children, grandchildren and future generations.
In 1999, through her sister, Linda met Brian Eckhardt, an engineer, father of two, and the love of her life. Together, they had many adventures. He took her hiking and skydiving and she delighted in it all. The couple married in beautiful Canandaigua, New York on May 27, 2000 and settled in Northampton, Pennsylvania. They built a home full of love, with a beautiful garden and a pair of swings hanging from the tall maple trees in the back yard. Linda loved many things-lunches with her sister, visits from her children, purple hyacinths, baking apple pies, sewing clothes for her grandchildren, and listening to Bruce Springsteen-and, above all, she loved Brian.
If you wish to make a gift in remembrance of Linda's life, the family asks that you consider a charitable donation to Alzheimer's Foundation of America.
The Strunk Funeral Home, Inc., Wilson Borough, is in charge of arrangements. Offer online condolences at www.strunkfh.com.