In Memoriam: Longtime Rumsonite Linda Mallan, 77

Longtime Rumsonite Linda Smith Mallan passed away peacefully on Nov. 24 due to complications from Alzheimer’s Disease. She was 77.

“In Rumson, Linda was a member of St. George’s-by-the-River Episcopal Church, where she arranged flowers with the Altar Guild and sang in the choir. She often brought altar linens home and patiently let them soak in her laundry sink. As her illness progressed, her fellow choir members shepherded her through navigation of complex liturgy with immeasurable grace and kindness. She was picked up and returned home every Sunday, humming and happy … Linda was also a member of the Rumson Garden Club. In perhaps the only competitive interaction of her life, she enthusiastically participated in flower arranging competitions, occasionally winning blue ribbons and silver bowls. She loved her garden but loved even more when friends shared cuttings or divisions of each other’s plants. She had a special fondness for the times when young members came to her garage for advice with arrangement submissions, to borrow a pot, or take home bouquets and clippings. She had an orchid hospital in her greenhouse and always took in strays, regularly nursing recalcitrant, near-dead plants back to bloom … She was fundamentally sure that all people just wanted to be friends.”
Loved ones of Linda Smith Mallan in her obituary

More about Linda Smith Mallan …

Born in 1943 to Ann Betts and Stewart Pardee Smith, of Skaneateles, NY, Linda was a cheerleader as a young person and spent summers sailing on Skaneateles Lake. For her senior year of high school, Linda moved with family friends to live on the island of Mallorca, Spain.

Her time there ignited a life-long love of languages and travel. In 1965, she graduated from Syracuse University where she majored in French and joined Gamma Phi Beta sorority. After college, she taught French and Spanish in Stamford, CT, where she met and then married Thomas A. Mallan, Sr. They lived in Scarsdale, NY, Chestertown, MD, and have spent the last 40 years in Rumson.

She is predeceased by her husband Tom, and her parents, Dr. Stewart P. and Anne B. Smith.

She is survived by: her children, Tracey Mallan Kane (Bill), Maggie Mallan Traut (Steve), Tom Mallan; five grandchildren; three great grandchildren; and her brothers, Doug Smith (Bev) and Roger Smith (Susan).

Linda’s family would like to extend loving gratitude to the staff at CareOne at King James Nursing Home in Atlantic Highlands, NJ, The Atria Assisted Living in Tinton Falls, NJ, and most especially Ruby Thornton who brought so much joy to the years of Mom’s decline, for their care, kindness, and genuine concern during her time with them.

A funeral service will be held at St. George’s by-the-River, Rumson, on Tuesday, Dec. 7 at 10:30 a.m..
In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America, or the Nuts, Bolts, and Thingamajigs Foundation, which supports individuals in discovering their interest in manufacturing and encourages the pursuit of a manufacturing career.