| Linda Pappas was born in San Francisco on January
20, 1948 and died January 10, 2001 in Rohnert Park, CA. She
was 52 years young. Linda was the daughter of Alex and Fern
Pappas and sister of Bonnie, Debbie, Rick (Butch), David (Rocky),
and Brenda Pappas. She was the mother of Christine (Bambi) Van
Duren and Heather Campos and grandmother of Miguel (Mikey) Campos.
She attended school in San Francisco at Balboa and in Sebastopol
at Analy. She was a graduate of Santa Rosa Junior College,
Bryman Medical School, and Mendocino College. Linda was a
LVN Charge Nurse and Psych Tech and worked in a number of
California State and private Hospitals here and in Oregon.
She was fun, a big person in a small body. She had pride
and good family values. She was determined and focused. She
was easily engaged in conversation with anyone from any social
or academic background. She was a world wind of energy and
inspiration to many people. If you knew her, you remember
her as she had the ability to leave an impression wherever
she went.
Farewell, Linda
by Rick Pappas
Dear Family & Friends,
I want to thank you all so much for your loving consideration.
It’s hard to put into words the feelings that your words
of encouragement have meant to us. So, please accept our thanks
for your kind thoughts.
Linda gave my family and I the greatest gift for allowing
us to be so close to her in her final days. She was so very
sick when we went to visit her in Oregon. When she stated
that she wanted to come back to California it was clear she
knew her time was short. She loved her daughters and Grandson
very much and I believe she did not want to burden them with
the pain of seeing her become physically weaker and in more
pain. Linda would many times express her love more in actions
than in words. So we quickly moved her down here in Rohnert
Park to stay with us her remaining days.
She was using a feeding tube and a pump that put pain medicine
directly into her heart. She had taken care of herself completing
the technical task of preparing and administering her feedings
4x’s a day prior to our arrival. This made it necessary
for us to rent an additional car to move her down. She taught
my wife, Mary, how to do the feedings and we prepared a bed
for her on the rear seat. She was in such pain and her spirits
were low. It was so sad seeing her saying goodbye to her family,
especially her daughter Heather. They were very close and
loved each other very much.
It took us a couple of days to get her home as we would need
to stop for each feeding that would take about 2-3 hours to
complete from beginning to end. I drove with Linda and Mary
drove with my Dad. It was a pretty uneventful trip as fortunately
Linda slept most of the way. I tried to drive carefully as
not to have any abrupt stops or bumps to cause her any additional
discomfort or pain. I must say, I did good, that is until
I reached Vallejo. I was trying to keep a steady speed when
I ran into a yellow light, you know the ones that you don’t
know if you should speed up or stop. Well, I stopped and stopped
a little to quickly and Linda was jolted awake. With her tongue
firmly in check she said “What are you doing, trying
to kill me”. Her humor was repeated over and over a
number of times, mostly with tongue firmly in place. I miss
that.
I had contacted Hospice from Oregon and made plans with them.
When we arrived that afternoon Hospice was there almost immediately.
They were so helpful in preparing and making all the necessary
medical arrangements. They provided Linda and the family with
all forms of support from physical massages to counseling.
Linda was a nurse. She was a very good nurse and a demanding
supervisor. She was very detailed oriented. This does not
lead to an easy patient because she knew precisely how things
should be done and would not accept otherwise. However their
patience and that of Mary as she became her nurse was awesome.
Linda trusted Mary completely, why not Linda taught her how
to do things Linda’s way, the right way!
Soon Linda’s spirits began to rise. The Doctors had
given Linda only a couple of weeks to live when she came down
here the first week of December 2000. She was an inspiration
for her sheer will and determination. She remained in control
of her life until her final breath. She shared so much with
us in the short time she stayed. She impacted my family positively
with her strength and love. She firmly communicated with me
her position in our family as the BIG Sister. Although she
was physically tiny, I will always remember her as my Big,
Little Sister.
She is in a much better place now and at peace. This I know
with certainty. She is with my Mom and other sisters Bonnie
and Debbie. I can't begin to explain the feelings we all experienced
as Linda was passing. She was in a semi-coma the last few
days. But Linda's daughters, Bambi and Heather, my children,
Yvonne, Nicole, Jessica and Sean and my wife Mary, my Brother
Rocky and his wife, Linda, my Dad and I stayed with her day
and night as a vigil for her not to be alone, as we promised
her. Someone held her hand virtually every moment of her last
three days and nights. It was a very special time. Linda passed
very quietly and with much dignity.
In her last weeks Linda told her daughter Heather that when
she passed she would flash a light to let her know that she
was okay. During her last few breaths we had a virtual light
show in our home with different lights going off and back
on. It was clear to us that her presence was still with us.
We are beginning to get back on track with work and such.
Mary and I took off about a month and it’s been difficult
getting back into the groove. We miss Linda a lot and are
sad at times, but what can you do? Our life will go on until
it is our time leave. But until then I will make a stronger
effort to enjoy life more and bitch about things less.
In Loving memory to Linda, my Big Little Sister and a special
hero.
Rick Pappas
January 2001
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