Willie S. Linberg, 80, of Naples, Fla. died Sunday, Jan. 31, 2010 at home surrounded by loving family.
Willie was born Oct 1, 1929 in Lasker, NC. After high school she attended nursing school in Raleigh, NC, graduated, and was a nurse at Duke Hospital in Durham where she met her future husband, Eugene J. Linberg, M.D.
Willie moved to Naples in 1971, and changed her career to Real Estate. In her spare time she was a 30 year member of the Collier County Medical Society Alliance, and served as its President for a year. Willie worked as a volunteer sharing her experience, strength, and hope with many self-help groups locally, statewide, and nationally. She also spent several years in the recent past moderating the nurse’s intervention project. Recently, Willie derived great satisfaction as a volunteer at the Naples Community Hospital Open Heart Unit.
Willie was told by some whom she volunteered with, that “Willie was a funny name for an Angel.” Nothing could be more true. She was kind and good, gentle and full of joy. She offered peace and comfort. Above all she knew the importance of unconditional love. She believed, as is written in 1 Corinthians, “Love is patient, Love is kind…Love always trusts, always hopes, Love always preservers…Love never fails.”
Willie is survived by her devoted husband of 56 yrs, Dr. Eugene Linberg and their four children: Dr. Thomas Linberg and his wife, Diane, of Holden, MA; Catherine Smith and her husband, Greg, of Birmingham, AL; Robert Linberg of Birmingham, AL; and Michael Linberg of St. Paul, MN. Willie is also survived by 5 grandchildren, Mallory Smith of Birmingham, AL, Kristin Smith Hicks of Birmingham, AL, Renu Linberg of Holden, MA, Jamie and Jodie Linberg of St. Paul, MN.
She was preceded in death by her father William Clinton Smith and her mother Arline Smith Vaughan, both of Lasker, NC, and sister Dorothy Ray Warmack of Cove City, NC.
Visitation will be on Thursday, Feb. 4 from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. at Fuller Funeral Home, 1625 Pine Ridge Rd., Naples with funeral services following at 8:00 p.m.
Sykes Funeral Service of Rich Square will be handling the graveside services on Saturday, Feb. 6, 2010 at 11 a.m. at the Lasker Cemetery in Lasker, NC with the Rev. Bob Rogers officiating.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the local Breast Cancer Chapter of the American Cancer Society-Relay for Life, or Avow Hospice of Naples.
A Poem to Nana
You have heard the laughs, you have seen the tears,
You have been an inspiration throughout the years.
You have helped people out through thick and through thin,
You would stand beside them throughout day-out and day-in.
You are more than a friend, a Nana, a Mother,
more than a chef, a role-model, a dog-lover.
No words can describe the things you have done,
the people you’ve touched,
the obstacles you’ve overcome.
Thank you Nana for the things you have taught me,
having you as a Grandmother is truly a Blessing.
I Love You, Renu
For online condolences, visit www.fullerfuneralhome.com.