[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 223 (Monday, January 3, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1403]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                  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.

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