It was so characteristic of Linda Klitch that one of her last wishes expressed to family, friends and colleagues was that everyone should become active blood donors.
Such a call to action amplified prior to her passing Sept. 26, 2011, as she feared she was using up too much of the health-care systems precious stock is not surprising to those who had come to know her.
Her response to the stresses and crises we all face in everyday life was always pro-active and practical. "What can we do?" she would ask of those she inspired, whether it was a matter of putting out a newspaper, helping raise funds for one of her many worthy causes or, most importantly, offering guidance to her four children, each on a different path to adulthood. "What should we be doing?"
Linda was not one to leap without looking. She would consider options, but when a decision had to be made, she would back it with unswerving, unstinting support. If people needed help, or just a kind word, she would make time to offer it.
Her children now adults and role models in their own right remember her simple (yet not always easy to follow) rules on how to live this life:
Give it your all...Appreciate all you have...Go where love goes...Do what is right...
Understand that people are more important than anything, and family most important of all.
Linda's energy was contagious. Whether addressing family, co-workers or people she had just met, she inspired others to follow suit and to take action, effecting change in positive and loving ways.
It has always been clear that Linda's word was her bond and that she was the most valuable of all allies. But she would be the first to say she was only one of many committed to making a meaningful difference. She would insist others have done more. Her admiration for those who help others, whether through their day-to-day work, volunteerism or spare-time efforts, was manifest in the recognition they were given in her newspaper's pages.
To those who mourn her now, she would say there is plenty of work still to be done and good people who need our help. And the best way to remember her is to honour the traditions of hard work and selflessness that she believed in.
Through our own actions buoyed by tenderness and love Linda's legacy, her spirit, will come alive within us.
There are many ways we can help, many organizations, service clubs and charities devoted to the well-being of our citizens. We should each, in our own way, become involved in building our own community, to strive to find ways to contribute, rather than simply consume.
The kind of caring and conscientiousness that characterized Linda Klitch should be her true legacy to all who knew her.
Read more about Linda in our local Peace Arch News
www.bclocalnews.com/surrey_area/peacearchnews/news/130643923.html
www.bclocalnews.com/surrey_area/peacearchnews/news/131020568.html
