Linda May French

Linda Susan May French, 74, of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, died on Sunday, November 9, 2025 in Exeter, NH.
Linda was born on March 23, 1951 in New Castle, Indiana, the youngest child of the late Horace Wilbur and Thelma Franklin May. From an early age, Linda exhibited a thirst for knowledge and a tireless drive to explore all the world had to offer. After completing her high school education at Hagerstown High School in Indiana, she received a BA in Astronomy from Indiana University in 1973, followed by a master's degree in 1977 and PhD in 1980, both from Cornell University.
In 1988, Asteroid "3506 French" was named in recognition of her outstanding contributions to astronomical research, and in 2020 she was named a Legacy Fellow of the American Astronomical Society.
A dedicated educator, Linda taught astronomy, physics, and life sciences to students of all ages throughout her career. She spent the last two decades of her professional life as a professor at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, Illinois, where she received the Kemp Foundation Award for Teaching Excellence in 2016. In addition to her astronomy and physics courses, she also developed and taught a popular course on the music of the Beatles as part of IWU's freshman writing program, and led several semesters abroad in London.
Linda loved all things England; she and her husband Ron made numerous trips there, spending months on sabbatical in York to research the 18th-century astronomer John Goodricke. They also enjoyed several visits to Cornwall with their daughters.
Linda was as passionate about her hobbies as she was about astronomy. She loved hiking, particularly in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. She treasured her Appalachian Mountain Club patch for completing all forty-eight of the New Hampshire 4,000 footers, and loved attending the annual AMC dinner to celebrate other honorees. One of her proudest hiking achievements was summiting Mount Katahdin, the highest mountain in Maine and the northern terminus of the Appalachian trail, at the age of 71.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Ron Emmons, and her brother Bill May. She is survived by her daughters, Susanna (Lauren) French of West Hartford, Connecticut and Maria Emmons of Bloomington, Illinois; stepdaughter Jenna Emmons of Scituate, Massachusetts; and numerous other family and friends who will miss her dearly.
A celebration of life will be held on Sunday, November 23, 2025 at 1:00 PM at Brewitt Funeral Home, 14 Pine Street, Exeter, New Hampshire.
A reception will follow immediately at the Exeter Inn, 90 Front St., Exeter, NH.