GEOFFREY LINBURN

1939 - 2021

LINBURN--Geoffrey Erdmann, MD. Berkeley, CA -- Geoffrey E. Linburn died at age 81 of complications from Parkinson's disease on August 24, 2021 at the Chaparral House. He was born September 25, 1939 in New York City the second of three children. His parents were James Sichel Linburn and Edith Erdmann Linburn. Geoffrey attended Collegiate School in Manhattan and graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy in 1957, Harvard University in 1961 (AB Philosophy), and Stanford Medical School in 1969. While in California at medical school he met Katherine Elizabeth Payne. They married in September, 1967. Geoff and Kathy moved to Denver for his internship at Denver Health Medical Center, then to Chicago for a psychiatry residency at University of Chicago, where their daughter, Deidre (Didi) was born. After moving to Vermont to complete his medical training at Dartmouth Medical School, his wife died from injuries sustained in a car accident. He remained a single parent to Didi for the rest of his life. During a 35-year career in psychiatry Dr. Linburn treated private patients and also worked in institutional and community settings. He worked initially as the Director of Counseling Services at Vassar College and as a psychiatrist at MIT. In 1977 he took a position as the psychiatrist at the Hingham (MA) district court clinic, and continued to serve as a psychiatrist in community- based mental health clinics in the Boston area until his retirement in 2011. His retirement years were spent in Northern California near his daughter, his son-in-law, his grandchildren and his extended family. In his free time Geoffrey pursued athletic and intellectual interests. As a life-long learner he practiced handwriting analysis and studied the intersection of psychiatry and law. In 1998, the Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and Law accepted his insightful paper, "Donaldson Revisited: Is Dangerousness a Constitutional Requirement for Civil Commitment?" Inclined to seek a challenge he packed a bicycle, skis or hiking boots on most of his travels domestic and abroad. He appreciated a wide variety of musical styles and was an accomplished pianist. He also studied and played bridge with his closest friends, having played his final round just the week before he died. He is predeceased by his parents and wife, Katherine Payne Linburn. He is survived by his daughter, Deidre Linburn Alley, his son-in-law Tim Alley, and grandchildren, Miller, Tilden and Sasha in Berkeley, his brother, Alan Linburn in New York City, his sister, Gail Derzon in Madison, WI. He also leaves a niece and nephew and their families, as well as his wife's extended family in the Pacific Northwest. Geoff's memory will be celebrated in gatherings of friends and family in the Bay Area and on the East Coast. He will be buried in Thetford, Vermont beside his late wife Kathy.