Mount Union

Who Cares?

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Note: What follows is specific to Christ Church, but if you attend elsewhere, please feel free to consider how it might apply to you in your ministry context. How can you be a part of something new?

Who Cares?

January 2023 Newsletter

Do you read your alumni newsletter as soon as it arrives?

Do open your newspaper, or internet news first thing every morning to check on the scores of your college teams?

Do you have season tickets to the Mount Union football games, or did you sit in the cold to watch the Raiders play their post-season games this winter?

In essence, what I’m asking is, do you care about what’s happening on campus?  Whether it’s Mount Union specifically, or Ohio State, Ohio Northern, Wittenberg, or wherever you went to school, my question is the same.  Do you have a passion for young people who are on university campuses?

Specifically, I’m asking, do you care about their spiritual well-being?

This week our Staff – Parish Relations Committee was discussing, and nominating persons who we… guess… have a passion for university students.  Our goal is to form a small team that will consider how Christ Church might take a more active role in campus ministry.  Just because we are a mile away and not right on the edge of campus, like the folks at Union Avenue, doesn’t mean that we don’t have a role to play.  But what is that role?  What would campus ministry look like for us?

Does that sound like a conversation in which you would like to participate?  It doesn’t matter if you are a snowbird, or if you don’t drive at night, what matters is that you have a passion, that you care about the spiritual care of the young people on campus.  If that’s you, please let me, or Sara Sherer, know who you are.

Our church budget has a line item for hiring a new staff person that will help us with campus ministry (along with applying for a grant from the East Ohio Conference).  But this isn’t something that we can just contract out.  We can’t hire someone to do ministry for us, we must be in ministry with them.

But is that the right thing to do? 

Is campus ministry a good fit for Christ Church?

Those are exactly the questions that we need to answer.  And, if you can help us find those answers, if you have a passion for the University of Mount Union, or if you care about the spiritual well-being of the students on campus, then please raise you hand and let us know so that we can put you on our team.

I am excited for the exciting things that Christ Church is doing.  I think that God has new and wonderful things in store for us in the future.

I hope that you will be a part of it.

Blessings,

Pastor John

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Eulogy and Obituary for Ward M. (Bud) Tuttle

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Eulogy for Ward M. (Bud) Tuttle

August 01, 2020

by Pastor John Partridge

 Almost exactly two years ago, many of us were in this same place as we remembered the life of Arden Tuttle and today, we are here to remember the love of Arden’s life, Ward M. (Bud) Tuttle.

As I spoke with Bud’s family this week, much as we did two years ago, much of our conversation revolved around travels and adventures.  And all our talking about travels and adventures got me to thinking about JRR Tolkien’s books, particularly “The Hobbit” which was recently made into several movie.  At the beginning of the story of “The Hobbit,” Bilbo Baggins, who is a hobbit himself, says,

“We are plain quiet folk, and I have no use for adventures. Nasty, disturbing, and uncomfortable things. Make you late for dinner!”

But, unlike Hobbits, some human beings seem to be born into a life of adventure and are just built for a life that is filled with them.   Bud Tuttle was one of those people.  Bud’s parents were travelers and, not surprisingly, when they did, Bud went with them.  And whatever happened on their travels together, the traveling, and the spirit of adventure that often found there, got into Bud’s blood.

But before we talk too much about Bud’s adventure, let’s go back closer to the beginning.  Bud was born in Knightstown, Indiana, and grew up on a farm.  In high school, Bud was small, and by small, I mean thin.  Really thin.  And when his mom gave him an ultimatum, to either play football in the fall or go with his friends and drive to California over the summer, Bud’s adventurous spirit won the day.  And, after high school, he found his way here, to Alliance, to study at Mount Union.

In 1948, while he was at Mount Union, he met Arden.  Now, understand that Arden was a looker.  When she arrived, it seemed as if every male on campus noticed her arrival.  She had 14 dates the first week, and Bud, who met her on her first day here, was one of them.  But although she was the center of attention and had plenty of men competing for her attention, Bud was the one, and she took the bull by the horns and told him that she loved him.  Maybe it was because rather than trying to impress her, Bud had spent their time together teaching her how to play bridge.

Soon after college, they were married, but then Bud was inducted into the Army, in the finance office, during the Korean Conflict, and Arden was by his side as he went to training and then stationed in Indiana, and later in Germany, while everyone else that Bud had trained with went to Korea.

In the story of “The Lord of the Rings,” JRR Tolkien wrote, “It’s a dangerous business… going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no telling where you might be swept off to.”

And, before long, Bud and Arden were regularly being swept off down the road to all sorts of adventures.  They visited 103 countries on six continents and, of all the places that they went, London was far and away Arden’s favorite. (She visited there 15 times!)  Early on, Bud had also made it a goal to visit all 50 states, and he did, even if he had to drive several hours out of his way so that he could get out of the car, and add another state to his list.

And after that first date playing bridge in college, they loved the game together, and continued playing, often twice a week, and sometimes Bud would substitute for Arden and be the only man playing in the ladies’ bridge group.  Bud was a member of the Rotary club for something like 43 years, and over the years he also belonged to the Shriners, Indian Guides, Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, and was a member of Alliance Country Club pretty much forever.  His children said that, as they were growing up, anytime there was a leadership position that came open in one of their youth organizations, Bud would step up and fill it.  And he was still doing that last year when I asked him to serve on a committee at church.  If it needed done, he did it; if it needed moved, he moved it.

If you knew Arden, you knew that she was not a fan of sports, but Bud was a different story altogether.  Despite taking a trip to California to avoid playing football, Bud was athletic and played basketball throughout high school, and somehow ended up on the football team anyway.  At one point he was the city champion ping-pong player, and we all know how much he loved to play golf.  He tried skiing in his 30’s but that experiment ended so badly that Bud not only never skied again, he could never really go bowling afterward either.  But, as much as Bud enjoyed athletic activities, he never much cared for, or participated in, any kind of exercise just for the sake of exercising.

Bud liked to watch sports as well as participate in them.  He was a big fan of the Ohio State, and the Cleveland Brown (at least in those unusual years when they were fun to watch), and no matter where their travels might have taken them, Bud always needed to know the score of the latest Mount Union game.  He played basketball with Jim, but when he attempted to play with his grandchildren, they were worried that it might just be too much for him and insisted that they play HORSE instead.  And, along those same lines, as much as Bud loved golf, everyone noticed that as his age began to catch up with him, the rules of golf began to, um, relax, a little.

And Bud’s love of competition didn’t stop at sports.  Their family was a family of games players.  They played all kinds of card games, and all kinds of board games, although Bud was not a fan of Risk and Arden did not like Monopoly.  And if Bud was alone, he challenged himself by solving jigsaw puzzles.  Not easy one, and as you or I would define them, not even hard ones.  But huge, ridiculously complex puzzles.  Puzzles with 10,000 pieces (seriously).  And even that wasn’t difficult enough for Bud, so he would work at those gigantic puzzles with specific rules that he made up to make them even harder, or he would turn the puzzles upside down and solve the blank side without the picture.  And woe to the poor unfortunate soul who might offer him help or assistance or dared to move the pieces because he seemed to know exactly where he had left every single piece.

But just as Bud grew up idolizing his father who travelled a lot, Bud’s children grew up travelling with Bud and Arden.  Whenever there were two or three weeks of vacation time, they would set out.  JRR Tolkien once said, “Home is behind, the world ahead.” And that could have described their family vacations.  At 6:00 am every morning they were on their way and would try to add a few new states to Bud’s list on every trip but would almost certainly stop at every tourist attraction and museum that had a sign along the road.  Sometimes they stayed at Howard Johnson hotels, but for two or three years, when Bud was the General Manager at a trailer factory, they would rent a trailer for their journeys. They drove to the New York World’s Fair in 1965, they drove to Yellowstone National Park with a playpen in the back of the car, and there was on time when Randy accidently leaned a folding chair against the side of the crank-up trailer, and it stayed there until they were preparing to pull out for the day’s journey when one of his brothers was cranking down the trailer, and it got jammed… and stuck.  That year, the rented trailer was, eventually returned, but not exactly in its original, undamaged, condition.

But Bud wasn’t all about work and competition either.  He was proud to be from Alliance, and he was proud of anyone who had come from Alliance.  When hometown boy, Len Dawson was scheduled to play in the first Super Bowl, Bud made sure that he sent Len a telegram to wish him luck in the game.  Bud also collected stories, and jokes (and occasionally his jokes were funny).  He liked listening to anyone who could tell a good story.  He knew a zillion of them and would tell them when the time was right, which was almost always.  One of his most famous stories was of a trip that he had made with a friend, in which they got lost in the fog in Tallahassee, and found themselves, as Bud would describe it, going “bumpity, bump, bump” down the stairs of the Florida state capitol building in their car.

And, even though they were separated by four or five states, Bud attended many of his grandchildren’s graduations and other events.  What’s more, Bud was always curious about the lives of his grandchildren, the events in which they participated, and he always remembered what they told him in every conversation, so that the next time he would ask how things went.

Despite his age, Bud was surprisingly good with new technology.  Better, in fact, than some people who are several decades younger.  Bud was pretty savvy on the computer, he printed all of his checks on his computer rather than write them by hand, he regularly used his Apple watch, and lately he has been participating, weekly, in the Rotary Club as well as his church Sunday school class via Zoom meetings.

In the last few years, Bud’s children tried to convince him to move to Atlanta to be closer to them but, not surprisingly, his roots here were just too strong.  His friends were here, his home… and his heart, were here in Alliance.

But finally, Bud has left his home and begun the greatest adventure of them all.  Truly, “Home is behind, the world ahead” and eternity awaits.

May those of us who remain behind be as faithful to our communities, to our churches, and to our families as Bud was.

Bon voyage, sir.  Clear skies and fair winds to you.  Fare thee well.

 

Obituary for Ward M. (Bud) Tuttle

Ward TuttleWard M. (Bud) Tuttle, age 91, of Alliance, passed away early in the morning on Tuesday, July 28, 2020 at Alliance Community Hospital.

He was born November 18, 1928 in Knightstown, Indiana to Benjamin and Fern (Dennis) Tuttle.

Bud graduated from Mount Union College in 1950 with a bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Finance. At Mount Union, he was a member of the ATO fraternity.

Bud served in the US Army from 1950 – 1952 and was stationed in Germany for part of his service.

He had a long career as a Finance and Accounting professional, holding management positions, e.g. Comptroller with Alliance Machine, ET Rugg Company and Northern Petrochemical. He then bought and operated Lake Cable Travel before selling the business and travelling the world.

Bud visited 6 continents, 103 countries and all 50 states. He also truly enjoyed being a parent and grandparent, playing golf, bridge and board games and gathering with his friends for Wednesday dinners and Monday coffee. He also was an avid sports fan supporting Mount Union, Ohio State, and the Cleveland Browns.

Bud was married to Arden E. (Davis) Tuttle, his world-travelling partner, for 68 years before her passing in 2018.

Bud was a member of Christ United Methodist church. He was very active in the Alliance community life. In 2009, Bud and Arden were awarded the Alliance Mayors Citizenship award for continuous involvement in the Alliance Community. Some of his civic memberships included Rotary, Shriners, Indian Guides, and Cub and Boy Scouts. He also was a long-time member of Alliance Country Club.

Survivors include : 3 children in Atlanta, Ga – Jeff Tuttle, Jim (Beth) Tuttle and Joyce Tuttle and 1 son in Columbus, Indiana – Randy (Edna) Tuttle; Brother, Robert (Marilyn) Tuttle of Harrisburg, Virginia; and 7 grandchildren, Josh Tuttle of State College, Pennsylvania, Jaime (Martin) Gutfeldt of Chicago, Illinois, Ben Tuttle of New York, NY, Courtney Tuttle of Atlanta, Georgia, Cristy (Derek) Hanke of Columbus, Indiana, and Megan and Bryan Tuttle also of Columbus, Indiana.

Calling hours will be held at 11:00 a.m., Saturday, August 1st at Cassaday-Turkle-Christian Funeral Home. Interment will be at Fairmount Memorial Park.

Arrangements are by Cassaday-Turkle-Christian Funeral Home, 75 S. Union Ave., Alliance, OH 44601.

Eulogy and Obituary for Linda Montgomery

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Eulogy for Linda Montgomery

June 22, 2020

by Pastor John Partridge

This is hard.

Being here is hard.  Watching this family suffer… is hard.  Losing a friend… is hard.  Not being able to have the celebration of life that Linda deserves, is hard.  All of this is hard.

Everyone that has ever met Linda Montgomery has a story that they remember, and they all want to tell about it.  We have already heard several of those stories.  And, most importantly, as I sat down with Linda’s family this week, they shared their stories with me for almost two hours.  It wasn’t boring or even difficult, but much like it has always been whenever anyone has ever talked about Linda, the stories about her, the love that they had for her, and the joy that she brought into their lives, just flowed out of them.  Everyone who met Linda, felt loved by her because she cared about everyone around her whether they were an old friend or a total stranger.  And in Linda’s world, strangers became friends almost immediately.

The difficulty that I have, is that between the stories that I heard, and those that have been emailed to me, I could stand up here and share with you for hours, and if we opened this microphone and offered you the opportunity to share, we could double that again.  But the reasons that everyone has great stories that they want to share, is because Linda cared about them.  She genuinely cared about everyone around her, she loved them, and more often than not, she put their needs ahead of her own.

One of Linda’s great loves was Mary Poppins, and like Mary Poppins, Linda was “Practically perfect in every way.”  She sang, she danced, and she made everything fun.  Linda literally sang her way through life and made up songs about whatever she was doing regardless of how trivial the task.  And, much like Mary Poppins, Linda brought a new and different energy to any room into which she would step.  In Mary Poppins, Mary and the children stop in the park to feed the birds and to make the acquaintance of the bird lady.  In Linda’s story, she was both Mary and the bird lady.  She loved birds, she loved watching the birds, and feeding the birds, and teaching her children and grandchildren, and anyone else, about the birds.  There was always a bird book near the window facing the bird feeder so that they could identify any unfamiliar birds that visited.  And she got terribly excited when a goldfinch stopped to have a snack and say hello and she made sure that Owen had a good set of binoculars so that he could see the birds too.

And loving birds was only a small part of Linda’s love of nature.  She loved the outdoors and was always happiest there.  She grew up camping and anytime that she went missing, everyone knew that you could probably find her near the fire circle.  And perhaps it was her time spent near the fire circle when she nurtured her ability to make the perfect smore.  She could toast a marshmallow any way that you liked it, from golden brown to crispy, to burnt.  Whatever was perfect for you, she could, and would, toast one just the way you liked it. She loved the water, but she loved being near the water and not on the water.  Whenever she was in a boat, she had white knuckles from holding on much too tightly.  But time on the shore had a much more relaxing and calming effect.

Linda’s father was a photography hobbyist and enthusiast and his love of photography infected her as well.  While she didn’t care to have her own darkroom or develop her own pictures, she was rarely without two or three cameras so that, wherever they went, she could get the perfect shot.

Linda always wanted what was best for her family, she did whatever she had to do, so that her children never knew how tight their money was, and she knew that she could never afford to send Jessica to college so she got work at Mount Union as a housekeeper so that, as staff, she would get a discount.  From there, she worked her way to the supply room, the key room, and the physical plant.  Then she had a heart attack and afterwards the university moved her to a less active secretarial position.  Somewhere along the line, she became “the duck lady” that could herd nesting ducks away from campus buildings and back to the lake.  Later she split her time between the physical plant and the chaplain’s office, and then finally full time at the chapel where, everyone knew that her gifts seemed perfectly matched to her position.  Mary Poppins, in the movie Mary Poppins Returns says, “Everything is possible, even the impossible.” And, Like Mary Poppins, Linda was known at UMU for doing the things that others thought were impossible.

One of things that often stood out, no matter where she went, was that Linda always put the needs of others ahead of her own.  Although she was often critical of herself, no matter who came in her office, she loved them.  Students who were far from home felt like they had a mom they could go to and no matter who she met, she liked to find the things that interested them.  Even when she was undergoing chemo, she was so focused on caring for others, and the needs of others, that many people didn’t even know that she was sick.  And even with all the things that she had on her mind, her friend Sarah Sherer told me that Linda agonized over whether she should retire or not because she didn’t want to leave anyone in the lurch.  She resisted taking sick days or Family leave days even when all of her friends and coworkers were urging her to do so, and to take care of herself, because she wanted to be sure that everyone else was taken care of first.

But as much as she cared for everyone, Linda’s family was everything to her.  As much as she gave of herself as work or at church, she did so many times over at home.  When she discovered that there was a Miami Dolphins playoff game being played while they were in Florida, despite the fact that she was not a Dolphins fan, and despite being undoubtedly expensive, and despite her dislike of driving in heavy traffic, Linda spent all day on the phone, found some available tickets, bought them, and drove to Miami so that Amanda, who was a fan, could have the once in a lifetime chance to see them in a playoff game.

Linda worried too much. She always knew what the weather was in Columbus before Amanda did and would call and warn her to take her umbrella, or to wear her galoshes, or a scarf, or whatever it is that mothers need to tell their children when the weather is bad.  All our moms did that, but Linda made an artform out of doing it long distance.  She worried about Amanda, and that created the need for Amanda to get an Instagram account and what she calls her “Amanda picture of the day.”  Every morning, Amanda would take a picture of herself, and send it to her mom, to reassure her that she was still alive and was doing alright.  This happened every morning, without fail, and if she was late, then Linda worried even more.

She was known for hot chicken sandwiches and cheesy potatoes, She and Sarah often made soup and salad for lunch for some of the faculty, staff, and students after chapel each week, and Linda always knew how to organize it and that chicken and rice certainly ought to be on the menu.  She wasn’t into fancy recipes, but she was a master at comfort food.  She, and her family, were obsessed with ice cream but she never drank alcohol.  This, of course led to a crisis for Amanda when she discovered that Linda was eating Rum Raisin ice cream.  In response to Amanda’s dismay at seeing her teetotaling mom “having alcohol,” Linda just explained that alcohol in ice cream “didn’t count.”

Linda was known for many things.  She was always smiling, rarely angry, she always made sure that the toilet was clean before company came, she had bright shining eyes that everyone noticed and remembered, even strangers would comment that she just smelled good, and somehow she made her favorite Clinique perfumes “Happy” and “Happy Heart,” smell different than they did on anyone else.  Her laugh, the “Linda cackle,” was well-known, could be heard from a considerable distance, often summoned friends who recognized it from around corners, and warmed the hearts of everyone withing earshot.   She loved all things Irish and, whenever the church basement sale received Irish themed items, they generally found their way to Linda before the sale ever started.  She was the favorite aunt that took them to the zoo and bought Evan his favorite dinosaurs and Ben said, “She was always comforting to me.  She always made me feel calm and endlessly happy, like being a kid all over again.  Being with her, and at her house, always relaxed me no matter what bad or stressful things were going on in the world.  I can’t think of someone who is more genuinely happy for others, so proud and thankful for her family, and so strong despite those fears and “quirks” she inherited from Grandma!”

There is so much more.

I know that I can’t tell you all of the stories that I have been told by Lynn, Jessica, Craig (whom she adored), Amanda, various church folk, Sarah, Ben, and Drew.  I apologize for not including them all.  I will add all of them to the text of this eulogy when I post it on by blog, but we just don’t have the time to share them all here.

For you who are her family, I hope that you remember that Linda Montgomery loved Jesus, and loved others like Jesus.  Linda loved others even at the expense of herself and her needs.  But as much as she loved others, she loved you more.  You were her reason to live and her reason to love.  You were her passion.  It was always your happiness that made her happiest.  Mary Poppins said that when the wind changed, it was time to go, even though the children were never ready for her to leave.    Like Mary Poppins, none of us were ready for Linda to leave.  But perhaps, it was just time.  Hold on to the love that Linda had for you.  Remember her laugh, her joy, her smell, her smile, her eyes, her love for others, and her love for you.  It was you who made her happy.  Hold on to the joy, the happiness, and the love that she gave to you.

And, because much of Linda lives on through you, I hope that you will share her love, her joy, and her happiness with the world around you.

Because life is hard, and all of us need more Mary Poppins-es and Linda Montgomerys in our lives.

Linda was indeed, “practically perfect in every way.”

Precious Memories

Linda Montgomery

Rev. Chris Martin

“Precious memories how they linger; how they ever flood my soul. In the stillness, of the midnight, precious sacred scenes unfold.”

Linda Montgomery was indeed a precious person. Regardless of the situation in which she found herself, Linda always wore a smile on her face. She showed kindness and compassion to everyone she met, always seeing the goodness in others, choosing to overlook anything less.  Her relaxed laughter made strangers into friends the moment she met them.  Linda was an easy person to love because she had the gift of putting people at ease in her presence.  While she was involved in so many things at Christ United Methodist Church, much of what she did was accomplished behind the scenes. She never sought recognition for what she did for others, preferring instead to work alongside others to share her talents and abilities.  Many of us at Christ Church knew her as the “reception” lady.  Often when there was a reception after a special program at church, Linda would not only solicit home-baked cookies from others, she would bake dozens-upon-dozens herself. Her emphasis was always on home-baked.

When the “Threads of Love” group formed to make prayer shawls for members and friends of the church who needed some additional love and concern, Linda took an active interest in this ministry. She was also instrumental in selecting and procuring a cabinet in which to store the prayer shawls until they were distributed.

When Lynn took over the responsibility of maintaining the church building and property, Linda was right there with him sharing in keeping everything clean and polished. Lynn and Linda had fun working together, often laughing as they completed their tasks.  Most of the conversations I shared with Linda were when I would stop at the church on Saturdays and she would be helping Lynn put the finishing touches on things so all would be ready for Sunday morning.  Those were truly precious times as Linda would talk about her daughters, Jessica and Amanda, and, of course, Owen.  I also remember Linda holding baby Owen in the back of the sanctuary during worship.  What joy he brought to her heart.  Jessica, Amanda and not-so-little-anymore Owen, your mom and Oma loved you more than life itself and still does as she watches over you now from her place in heaven.  Lynn and Linda loved and cared for each other in such a beautiful way, especially in the last months of Linda’s illness, when Lynn did everything he could to comfort and care for her.  Indeed, “Precious memories how they linger; how they ever flood my soul. In the stillness, of the midnight, precious sacred scenes unfold.”  Amen.

Chris Martin,

Pastor of Visitation

Christ United Methodist Church

Alliance, Ohio

Drew Shuster

Subject: Aunt Linda

I don’t have a particular story, but I did want to say that I will miss her laugh and her kind heart.   She had the kind of laugh that always made me laugh.   I will miss hearing her laugh at our family gatherings especially at Christmas when we always have such fun playing games and doing funny gift exchanges as a family.  She loved all of us kids so much and she always made sure we knew it.   Evan also wanted to say that she bought him his favorite dinosaurs when they were out together at the zoo and he will always think of her when he is playing with them.

Ben Shuster

Subject: My Aunt Linda remembrance

I just know that my mom and Grandma’s friends would always joke how Aunt Linda reminded them of Grandma Rickard — there was no mistaking she was Grandma’s daughter.  When I was a boy I loved going to Grandma’s house of course!  I always felt so at home there, a home away from my home.  Grandma would laugh and sit and watch us boys go crazy, say funny things, with love and happiness written all over face.

When Grandma passed, and as I grew up, and it became “Aunt Linda’s house” — every time I’d go visit I would think “wow, she really is looking more and more like grandma!”  Her laugh more like grandma’s, the way she’d sit and watch and laugh at us being silly adults.  And she became an Oma herself and it was official!  She was the new “Grandma.”

Since my dad passed away and we moved away, I’ve always felt so uncomfortable in Alliance — but not at that house on Glenwood, and not with Aunt Linda.  She was always comforting to me.  She always made me feel calm and endlessly happy, like being a kid all over again.  Being with her and at her house always relaxed me no matter what bad or stressful things were going on out in the world.  I can’t think of someone who is more genuinely happy for others, so proud and thankful for her family, and so strong despite those fears and “quirks” she inherited from Grandma!

I’ll keep remembering her like I remember my childhood — happy, laughing, joking, peaceful.  And I’ll plan to teach Alex what she taught us — that no matter how tall the odds or what fears we might have, you face them strong and you fight as best you can because your family loves you and will support you no matter what.

We love you Aunt Linda aka Oma!

Sara Sherer

UMU Director of Residence Life

Thoughts about Linda

Before actual “stories” I will say that the things that stood out to me most about Linda were how much she loved to laugh… and she had a great laugh.  She had a servant’s heart – she worried about other people working too hard, but she never stopped.  She loved her family and worried about them, but she was so proud of her girls, and her nephews and sister.  But, she just cared about people and was a great listener.  She was an awesome co-worker.  She always found a way to get things done, even when other people told you they couldn’t happen.

Stories:

  • When I first started working at Mount Union, I didn’t know my own office phone number… I thought I did, but I didn’t.  I had never lived anywhere where there were 2 exchanges in the same city… so I thought all Alliance phone numbers began with 823…. but my office line didn’t.  So, one time Linda called my office and told me that she called a friend and realized that the last 4 digits were the same as a co-workers… and her friend asked, is your co-worker Sara?  Can you tell her to stop giving out my number??
  • Similarly – I used to re-record my voicemail message every week.  We had to, to update who was the emergency contact on campus.  I hated it recording it and often it took several “takes” before I got all the way through the long message without saying something wrong.  Well, one day, I got a voicemail from Linda and she was just laughing so hard.  When I recorded my voicemail, I thought I was starting over with each of my do-overs, but Linda told me that each and everyone of them were recorded, back to back… and that it had taken me 8 attempts that time and she had listened to every single one, laughing harder with each of my attempts.
  • Then there was the time that I donated a coat to the church basement sale and in the coat pocket was a campus key!  Thank goodness Linda recognized the key and figured out it was mine (I was pretty new to church at that time) and got it back to me! That would have been an expensive loss!
  • I think that it may have been Susan Diser who originally invited me to come to choir… but it was sitting with Linda and Lucinda and Diane in the alto section that made it so much fun. The altos always got into trouble with Lanny, the director.  I’ve missed all of them in choir!  (although the altos still probably are the most unruly section!)  The biggest problem I had, besides getting in trouble with the altos, was that we sat beside the tenors, so often I would find myself singing tenor along with Lynn instead of the alto part!
  • Linda was the first person that Ian and I ever visited (outside of family).  I was on maternity leave (and living on campus) and Linda was at home recovering from a heart-attack, so I loaded Ian up in his stroller and we walked to visit Linda.
  • Similarly – I think that Linda was one of the first people to ever meet Mark… the week after he was born was VBS at church (combined with St. Joe’s that year) and Linda and Lynn agreed to pick up Ian and take him to bible school every night.  When she came the first night, she came in to meet Mark, but made a big fuss over Ian becoming a big brother and brought him a stuffed animal dog – of the golden-retriever variety.  Ian immediately named him Sandy and he was the precious stuffy that had to go on everywhere with us.  I was pretty certain Sandy would end up going to college with Ian.
  • For the last couple of years, Linda and I have planned and provided light lunches, often soup and salad, for a small group of students/faculty/staff after chapel service most weeks.  She was a great partner!  I needed a decision maker.  At the beginning of a semester I sent a whole list of fancy soups that I could make… and the one that Linda requested first was chicken and rice!  It was such an “old standby” that I almost didn’t put it on the list.
  • She agonized about whether or not to retire.  She didn’t want to leave anyone in a lurch.  She fought against taking sick days and eventually FMLA even when we were all urging her to take the time off and take care of herself.  She wanted to make sure that we were all taken care of first.

Obituary for Linda Montgomery

Linda Montgomery

Linda Rickard Montgomery, age 59, of Alliance, passed away on June 18, 2020 at the Cleveland Clinic due to complications after courageously fighting leukemia and lymphoma.

She was born June 25, 1960 in Alliance, Ohio to Kenneth and Marjorie Rickard. A graduate of Alliance High School, class of 1978, Linda worked at the University of Mount Union since 1995 where she held many positions, but finally finding her perfect niche in the Dewald Chapel. She was planning to retire this month.

Linda was a member of Christ United Methodist Church where she spent many years as part of the choir and Threads of Love. She also served as the head of the reception committee and a member of the Friendship II Sunday School class. Linda was also a long-time member of Rainbow Girls and the Eastern Star.

Linda loved camping and being outdoors, spending time with her family, Christmas, bird watching.  She was always smiling and bringing joy to others, especially with her famous laugh, the “Linda cackle”.

Survivors include her longtime partner, Lynn Goldrick; daughters, Jessica (Craig) Crider of Salem, OH, and Amanda Montgomery of Columbus, OH; grandson, Owen Crider; sister, Susan (Dieter) Kahle of Solon, OH; nephews, Drew (Erin) Shuster of North Ridgeville, OH, and Ben (Erin) Shuster of Arlington, VA; great nephews, Evan, Isaac, and Alexander.

She was preceded in death by her parents.

A private funeral service will held.  She will be laid to rest beside her parents at Alliance City Cemetery.

Memorial contributions can be made in her name to American Red Cross (monetary or blood donations) http://www.redcross.org or Christ United Methodist Church 470 Broadway St. Alliance, OH 44601.

Arrangements are entrusted to Cassaday-Turkle-Christian Funeral Home, Alliance, Ohio.  Friends may register online at www.ctcfuneral.com.

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