Walpole – Linda J. Gilmore, age 70, passed away at Norwood Hospital on November 5. Born in Cleveland, Ohio on May 1, 1943, she was the daughter of the late Richard Byers and Jean (Barr) Byers. She was raised in East Cleveland and graduated from Shaw High School in 1961. She attended Ohio Wesleyan University before transferring to Kent State University from which she graduated in 1966.
Linda has been a resident of Walpole since moving from Norwood in 1970. She worked at the Massachusetts Bureau of Library Extension in Boston as an access services coordinator, and at several Walpole elementary schools and the Norfolk County Agricultural School as a librarian before retiring in 2008. A voracious reader and proponent of public libraries, she served on the Walpole Public Library Board of Trustees for 28 years.

Linda had a highly inquisitive mind and was a keen observer of events, issues, and matters large and small that impact and color life. She found much to appreciate, admire, and learn in the ordinary and the extraordinary things around her. One of her favorite pastimes was the “Sunday ride.” She and her husband Gene would set out in their car and enjoy whatever the road ahead offered whether it was the bustle of a city or the quiet of the countryside.

She was the beloved wife of Gene Gilmore for 45 years. Loving mother of Hannah Fichandler and her husband Kris Fichandler of Fairfield, Connecticut, and Brian Gilmore and his wife Jennifer Horner Gilmore of Los Angeles, California. Cherished grandmother of Summer and Cooper Fichandler. Sister of the late Andrew Byers of Prior Lake, MN and the late Abigail (Byers) Weber of Geneva, Ohio.

Visiting hours will be Saturday, November 16 from 10AM to Noon, followed immediately by a service in the Alexander F. Thomas & Sons Funeral Home, 45 Common Street, Walpole. Interment will be private at the family’s request. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Walpole Public Library.

Thomas & Sons
Walpole, MA
tel: 508-668-0154