The publication is reproduced in full below:
HONORING THE LIFE OF LINDA C. DAVIS
______
HON. JOE COURTNEY
of connecticut
in the house of representatives
Monday, January 3, 2022
Mr. COURTNEY. Madam Speaker, I rise today out of great respect for a public servant who has since left us, Linda Davis of Ledyard, Connecticut. Linda passed at the age of 71 on December 12th, 2021, after a long-term battle with cancer. Having dedicated 40 years of her life to the town, earning Linda the appropriate nickname, ``Mother Ledyard,'' the heartbreak that has resulted from her loss cannot be understated.
Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on April 4th, 1950, Linda grew up with an affinity for sports and her hometown teams, the Pittsburgh Pirates and Pittsburgh Steelers. Upon graduating from high school, Linda continued on into higher education at the University of Pittsburgh where she was able to actively enjoy Steelers games. It was at one of these very hometown games, a playoff between the Steelers and the Navy, that Linda met a rival by the name of Earl Davis. Little did she know at the time that that game and the rival she had met would change the course of her life. It was not long after their first run in that Linda became Mrs. Linda Davis, marrying Earl in 1970 before making the choice of settling down in our neck of the woods, Ledyard, Connecticut.
By the early 1980's, Linda had moved to Ledyard with her new family and went right to bat for the town of Ledyard. First appointed to the Parks & Recreation Commission and Economic Development Commission in the same year, Linda became a key figure in Ledyard's fight against the 1981 gypsy moth blight, which significantly impacted the State of Connecticut and even continues to invade our communities in spikes to this day. Linda led a part of a town-wide spraying campaign using a fungus which proved effective against the moths. This fungus earned Linda a spotlight on the CBS Evening News with Dan Rather as she was featured during a report detailing her experience, ultimately helping spread a message that led to the curbing of the 1980's outbreak of gypsy moths.
From those early days through to even her final moments, Linda's life force derived from her fierce advocacy on behalf of the town of Ledyard. Capping her several decades of service to the community, she most recently won a ninth term to the town council. Serving as Chairman of the town council since 2012, Linda used her position of influence on the Land Use, Planning, and Public Works Committee as well as the Information Technology Committee to make Ledyard more hospitable in a variety of ways. This includes her work to publish town works online, making local government more accessible and transparent for the general public. Her leadership on the town council, reflected by her ability to bring elected representatives together, only exists of course as the tip of the iceberg when it comes to remembering her example.
The prosperity of Ledyard was always close to Linda's heart. Since the start of her official capacity with the town of Ledyard through her service on the Parks & Recreation Commission in 1981, Linda wore just about every hat one could in Ledyard, ranging from other governing bodies like the Economic Development Committee to her Chairmanship of the Board of Education in 2003. Her background in real estate made her a successful proponent of improving the town's image, including her work to move an anti-blight ordinance through Ledyard Town Council as well as her efficient stewardship of Ledyard's Beautification Committee. As a real estate agent, Linda personally helped move and welcome more than a thousand families into the eastern Connecticut area.
Resembling a true reflection of her character, however, Linda most notably fostered a loving responsibility for the local food pantry during her later years. As supervisor to the pantry, Linda put countless hours into maintaining and recruiting sources for the available supply, most recently overseeing its transfer into a new storage space and making more efficient the process by which donations go from storage to families in need. The town of Ledyard even renamed the pantry after Linda in honor of her dedication to the food pantry.
Madam Speaker, it is an honor to know of and represent eastern Connecticut residents like Linda Davis, who has put in the work to not just better our community, but also acted as a magnate in attracting families into the neighborhood. Her leadership and passion were felt by all within the town. Though words cannot describe how deeply she will be missed, we can find consolation in the fact that there is an army out there that will ensure her legacy and example lives on. Included in that army, of course, is her surviving beloved husband Earl, her son Jeffry, and sister Diane Delmer. To these ends, I ask that my colleagues in the House join me in honoring Linda's life through the Congressional record so that we all may better live up to the standard set by her.
____________________
SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 223(1), Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 223(2)
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