Linda Joan Schier
Linda Grieshaber was born in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia on 2nd September 1956, the second of four children of Eric Leonard Grieshaber and Dorothy Joan Dorrington. She was baptised, confirmed and married at St Paul's Lutheran Church in Toowoomba. Throughout her life she remained a loving, faithful and caring daughter.
Linda attended the Souths Girls and Infants State School and Centenary Heights State High School. She was a good student, achieving better grades than average
and was awarded a Science Scholarship to complete Grade 12 but left school after grade 10 to take up a job as a bank johnny at the ANZ bank in Toowoomba.
On 1st January 1981, she married Ralph Martim Schier and moved to Ipswich where their first child, Timothy, was born in October 1981. ,Six months later, Ralph, who works for Queensland Rail, was transfered to Maryborough where their remaining three chidren were born (Lara in 1983, Mark in 1986 and Emma in 1988).
A few months after Emma's birth, the family moved to Gladstone in Central Queensland, further away from family. The Schier family, nonetheless, settled well due to Linda's hard work and her amazing ability to make new friends. She ensured the kids were involved in music, dance, sport and church. It was at this time that I met her, having moved south with my little entourage following my then husband's same Queensland Rail career paths. William and I had four children whose ages almost matched within months of each of the Schier off-spring.
Linda had a strong Christian faith throughout her life, instilling in her children the love of Jesus and others. This faith sustained her through many difficult times and inspired others right to the end.
In 1992, while we went back to Townsville, the Schier family transfered to Brisbane. Linda continued her family roles as wife, Mum's taxi and doting mother. In fact, Family always came first for Linda. She took up volunteer roles teaching religious education in State Schools, supporting the elderly, working at the church, working behind the scenes at 96.6 Family radio and as a driver for Blue Care. She also worked for a while as a teacher's aide. The teenaged Schier kids didn't always think that these outside the home occupations were 'cool' efforts when they didn't produce money, but Linda patiently made them understand that not all you do in life is about dollars.
In recent years, Linda was working on a book that her sister, Sandy, is now going to get published. I felt honoured that Linda let me read an almost finished draft of this book.
In February 2011, Linda was diagnosed with Small Cell Neuroendocrine Carcinoma which presented first as a breast lump she had put off getting checked out for some months. It was a rare and particularly aggressive cancer which took her life in a bare ten and a half months so ignoring it for a short while made no real difference to the outcome. Linda struggled through chemo and radio therapies, surgery and finally when treatment ceased, she was placed into the compassionate hands of the staff of Prince Charles Palliative Care Unit on 26 November 2010 where she stayed until her death on 7th January 2012.
As ever, Linda inspired and encouraged her family and friends to 'carry on' during her ten and a half month struggle with cancer. Linda and I were friends for more than 23 years. When I moved to Brisbane in 2004, we starting meeting for lunch about once a month. We celebrated everything together! When she got sick, the routine did not change. I would pick her up from home and take her out for lunch or a drive if she wasn't feeling well enough to eat anything. Linda loved showing me her favourite haunts of the Redcliffe Peninsular during those months. I was truly saddened to be transfered clear across the country in Perth during her final days. Fortunately, I was able to spend a week visiting almost daily at the beginning of December. I'll miss her greatly.
Linda & Felicity
The Sue Yeks visiting Linda at Prince Charles
Miranda, Nadia holding Felix, David & Linda
posted by Felicity | 6:48 pm
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home