WESTFIELD – Linda Louise Kibe made an impromptu departure from our lives on April 7, 2023. Her family and friends are processing the sudden loss of such an amazing spirit. Norma Irene Hall (Cauley) welcomed her first child, Linda, on March 2, 1948 in Elizabeth, PA. Norma would have two more children before moving to Massachusetts and eventually settling in Westfield. Linda attended Westfield High School and during her time there she participated in cheerleading and made friends whom she would stay connected with for the rest of her life.
Education, as a student and a teacher, was a passion for Linda. She attended Cape Cod Community College and during her time on the Cape she not only fell in love with the area, something she would share with her daughters, but met a group of friends who would become family. She graduated from UMASS Amherst with a degree in speech language pathology and later obtained her Master’s Degree +60. She spent 32 years teaching in the Westfield Public School System. After retiring she taught part time in the Williamstown School system.
Linda was a woman who wore, owned and loved many different hats. An avid Shakespeare fan she made several trips to the Shakespearean Festival in Stratford, Ontario, Canada. She had a passion for politics and was active at the local and state level in the Democratic Party, an involvement she was able to share with her friend Ann. She was a DIYer before it was cool, and she always had a project in the works that let her show her creativity and passion to design. Linda created an acronym for a shared middle name for her daughters, “Sharnel,” using names of people she admired for the first five letters and the last two for “Enjoy Life,” something she wanted to instill in her daughters as a tenet of a fulfilling existence.
Linda loved the color red, irises, Cape Cod, the smell of fall that happens the last week of August, girl power, The West Wing, blueberry tea, cats, raking leaves, a good Cape Codder, MSNBC, hats, Murder By Death, Exclamation perfume, New England, Joe Pesce, spaghetti, shopping in Northampton, Christmas, being called “Grammy,” taking Bella for walks, sitting by a fire with friends on summer nights, Fiddler on the Roof, Charmed, Seinfeld, classical music, books about grammar, kaleidoscopes, earrings, refrigerator magnets, wing back chairs, dried flowers and life.
Her family and friends were her life, and she spent her time always doing nice things for those she cared about. She is loved and greatly missed by her daughter Caitlin and son-in-law Phil and her daughter Kristin and son-in-law Robert. The loss of Grammy is impalpable for her grandchildren Harper Norma and James Joseph (JJ). Linda is remembered by her sisters-in-law Carolyn and Julie Kibe; her nephews David, Joe and Don Kibe; her aunt Betty Wood and her cousin Star Wood and her wife Annie Kirkpatrick. In addition to her family her lifelong and life changing friends Joanne Barrett, Cindy and Bob Lehtinen, Marie Minalga, Steve Kulewicz, Kathy Hickey, Annie Polaski and many others carry her spirit through memories of their time with Linda.
Waiting to greet Linda on the other side was her grandmother Rena Cauley, her mother Norma Hall and her brothers Dan and Don Kibe, aunts, uncles, friends, and well-loved pets.
A Celebration of Linda’s life will be held from 10AM-12PM on Sunday, May 7, 2023 at Southwick Forastiere Funeral Home, 624 College Highway, Southwick, MA. A private burial will be held at the convenience of her family. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in Linda’s name to American Cancer Society, 3 Speen St., Framingham, MA 01701. For online condolences please visit www.forastiere.com.
