Life Story: Juliet Linder
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A Minneapolis woman left her mark on the field of nursing.
Juliet Linder worked at several hospitals in the Twin Cities and as a consultant in the medical device industry.
In the 1980s, she served as president of the local chapter of the American Association of Critical Care Nurses, helping to revise the national certification exam.
Her joyous personality remained intact -- even as she fought a debilitating disease.
Linder's husband, Harvey Linder, says he shared a lifetime of laughter with her.
They met as freshmen at Duke University in North Carolina.
"She was pretty and she had [laughs] sexy legs!" Harvey said.
They married in 1972, and then moved to Minneapolis, where Juliet earned a master's degree at the University of Minnesota. She then worked as a supervisor at Hennepin County Medical Center and Abbott Northwestern.
She later advised engineers at Medtronic who were working on heart devices.
"I think she was also interested in, you know, elevating the skills of the profession," Harvey said. "It wasn't so much she wanted to lead as much as when she got involved in a group, people would look at her and they see her poise and her intelligence and they would ask her to lead."
At home, Juliet juggled the responsibilities of raising two sons, and became the neighborhood mom that kids turned to for comfort and advice.
She kept in shape by playing tennis several times a week.
"She started missing shots that she knew she could make, and it was like, frustrating," he said.
A neurologist confirmed it was not merely a pinched nerve causing problems -- it was multiple sclerosis.
Juliet would slowly lose her mobility and muscle control.
"We were out to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary … we were going away for the weekend and we're getting ready to go out to dinner, and she couldn't get up. She couldn't walk," Harvey said.
Over the next 25 years, Juliet and Harvey adjusted to the changes that MS brought into their world. They started a website to share their reflections and inspirational messages.
And they never let go of their tradition of taking long walks together, even though a wheelchair was now required.
"She kind of accepted the path that, you know, she was on," Harvey said.
Juliet Linder was 66 years old when she died on March 20. Her family says donations can be made to the Minnesota chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
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