I am very sorry to report the death of my sister Linda Garrick this last Sunday. I haven't been on the boards until today because of it. I received a call early Saturday from her husband and dropped everything to make a white-knuckle 14-hour drive to Northern California in order to arrive before it was too late.
My sister was awake and aware until the last minutes before her death, and I can only say that I was in awe of her courage. The doctors told her she had another day at the most. Linda decided that she had had enough and did what she has always done throughout her life. She didn't wait for something to overtake her. She charged in to meet it head on, on her terms. She ordered us to remove her oxygen mask.
Linda's courage was awe-inspiring. She had more guts than I have ever had or could ever hope to have. She was my sister for 55 years, and I loved her. I'm going to miss her for the rest of my life.
In closing, I would like to quote a phrase I read in the Star Trek novel, "Dreadnaught." Linda loved science fiction. She saw it as a hope for what the human race could achieve someday. This was supposed to be a piece of Klingon poetry, but I only remember the last two lines. They were incredibly appropriate.
"In the end, it is not to die. It is to die well."
Nan Smith
