OBITUARY SUBMITTED BY CLASSMATE BETTY CARLISLE FRANK, CLASS OF 1961:

LINDA EATON CAMANN passed away on May 24th, 2020 after a lengthy battle with breast cancer. Raised in Hobart, Linda, also known as Janie, graduated from Hobart High School in 1961. Polio in early childhood left her partially paralyzed necessitating the use of braces and crutches. However, Linda chose to define her life by her capabilities rather than her disability. Passionate about music, at the age of 8 she won first place on the national TV show, The Morris B. Sachs Amateur Hour. That same year she won a piano concerto competition judged by famous concert pianist Rudolph Ganz, who later taught her at Chicago’s Roosevelt University. In her teens she won state and national piano competitions and performed across the Chicago area, including master class performances led by Maurice Dumesnil, famed student of the composer Claude Debussy. Linda attended Valparaiso University where she met David Camann, her math tutor and future husband.

The Camanns lived in Texas where Linda taught music to gifted students and children with disabilities. Linda established the LGSM Foundation 32 years ago to teach piano and enrich the lives of disabled students, Well-known in San Antonio music circles, Linda proudly held numerous major piano ensemble concerts by her students at Beethoven Hall and other large venues in San Antonio. Linda encouraged accomplished students to assist younger students and paired able-bodied and disabled students to learn together and share their music. She shaped students’ musical skills and helped them gain professional and personal confidence.

Always adventurous, Linda enjoyed hot air ballooning, flying over Alaskan fjords and glaciers, swimming with dolphins, riding roller coasters, Caribbean cruises, camping, walking trails in her beloved Yellowstone National Park, and organizing a family white water rafting trip.

A force of nature, a vibrant spirit, with the strength and the drive to do what she loved, Linda lived a life of purpose in spite of the daily personal challenges she faced.

Linda is survived by her husband David; their children Mark, Brent, Amy, and Joel; and six grandchildren. Memorial donations may be made to the LGSM Foundation, PO Box 33008, San Antonio, Texas 78265.  Learn about Linda’s incredible achievements with her organization at http://lgsmfoundation.org/index.html. The letters LGSM represent the name of her devoted piano teacher in Hobart (Lillian Gertrude Sims McRitchie) who honed Linda’s skills so that she could become an incredible concert pianist and teacher.

The picture was obtained from the 1961 HHS Memories yearbook, made available by the Lake County Public Library, at: https://archive.org/details/HOHS1961Images/.