Linda Lou Alvord

Linda was born in the fall of 1936 at Newcomb Hospital in Vineland, New Jersey. She grew up the only child of Henry Brewer Alvord and Regina Sue Nickel Alvord. She was fortunate to be surrounded by relatives, specifically numerous cousins, and spent summers in Sea Isle City, New Jersey. She is survived by her cousins: Anne Uhler and Rosalie Strang, her former partner, Lynette Birkins, and her friend, Tama Traberman. Education was a key aspect of her life and career. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics from Montclair State University and earned a Master of Arts degree in Education from Columbia University. She continued learning and teaching throughout her life finishing with a Ed.D from Rutgers University. “Willie the Snail”, an illustrated book explaining math, was her thesis project. She freely gave away copies and kept Willie on her bookcase. Her first and only teaching job was at Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School in Union County NJ where she began as a mathematics teacher, became the Math Department Chair and finally the District Supervisor. She taught for over 40 years. During that time, she wrote and published papers. You can find her book entitled, “Probability in Apl” at Amazon. She collaborated with Norman Thomson on several APL works including “An APL Tutorial” and “APL alkeisopas”. Her interest in mathematics led to her taking an active role and becoming a sought-after speaker at ACM (Association of Computing Machinery) and SigAPL conferences around the world. Linda’s speaking engagements took her to Europe and Australia as well as around the U.S. She focused on programming languages at a time when computer programming was in its infancy. She had fun with math. She moved on from APL to J programming, becoming a member of the J Forum. Linda enjoyed change, using her artistic skills to decorate or make a garden at her latest home; she even helped design a home in Maine with her partner Lynette. She lived in several New Jersey towns including Plainfield, Martinsville, Glen Gardner, and Milford. Eventually she moved to Sarasota Florida leaving the clouds and cold weather behind. She was fond of saying it was always sunny in Sarasota. She had a happy-go-lucky attitude in life. During her retirement, she became a more active watercolor painter, taking classes in the area and entering juried shows. She often purchased watercolors painted by her teachers. Every wall of her home became her gallery. As several of the cousins know, she was always looking for new subjects to paint and if someone gave her a photograph, they might receive a painting in return. Her Christmas cards were always special, usually picturing one of her paintings on the cover and a special handwritten note inside. Linda could be described as “caring” and “generous”. She was also playful and quirky. She was not tied to material things, if a friend or family member indicated they liked something of hers, she would often gift it to them including stays at her Sarasota condo. And Linda enjoyed entertaining - having dinner parties as well as going out to dinner. Linda lived her life, her way. She was independent and stubborn to the end of her days, and we loved that about her. Later this year, Linda will be interred with her parents at the Siloam Cemetery in Vineland New Jersey. A “Celebration of Life” will be scheduled at that time and posted on this site.

Tributes

Linda Lou Alvord

October 21, 1936 - May 23, 2023