by Henry Lane Hull
Over the now more than a third of a century that I have written this item, one of the greatest pleasures of the process has been making friendships with the staff members and others who have contributed articles to the Rappahannock Record.
Linda Troise, who served for many years as the newspaper’s advertising manager, remains an outstanding example of the quality of the folks who have worked here.
Linda and her husband, K.C., who is the paper’s ombudsman for resolving all technical problems relating to the computer (I speak with him often), formed a perfect couple, both being extraordinarily proficient in their work and wonderful people to know. Linda, who had retired some years ago, died this week after a protracted illness with cancer.
As advertising manager, despite the pressure of getting everyone’s ad taken, formatted, placed and published, Linda each week continued to be the ultimate professional. Regardless of the constraints of time, she had a cheery word for everyone who passed by her desk and came to know her clients personally as well as professionally. For Linda, nothing appeared to be a burden, or if it was, she accepted it and moved forward in a spirit of camaraderie and good fellowship.
In dealing with her clients Linda made the advertising experience personal. She took a keen interest in the clients’ businesses and saw her task being to help them to achieve the service goals to which they aspired in working with their customers. She was a master graphic artist, who could produce a layout that made a memorable impression on readers and clients alike. She thrived on the challenge of putting the piece together in less than a week, knowing well that the following week she would be formulating a new presentation, usually from scratch. In all of her work she was the model of composure and self-assurance and she won countless awards for the products she brought forth.
In the room adjoining Linda’s, her husband, K.C., sits behind a computer screen that is larger than most flat screen televisions. Its face resembles that of an airplane cockpit panel with more icons and symbols than anyone seemingly could master, but master them K.C. has and on numerous occasions he has been responsible for succeeding in getting this item to the editor. He treats his job as a matter of course, whereas I stand bewildered by what all of the images mean.
Linda took great interest in the arrival of the two B.E.s and kept up with their growth and development. Such was a typical reaction on her part. She thrived on hearing good news about people and genuinely shared in their happiness. When she retired, she left a huge following of devoted clients and customers who appreciated her professionalism and valued her friendship.
Linda was a native of Los Angeles, but she left the California hubbub behind her to merge into the quiet rural life of suburban Mollusk in Lancaster County, Virginia. She was a person who was at home in any surrounding and shined in any circumstance.
Linda and K.C. proved that a married couple could attain the same level of happiness in the workplace that they enjoyed in their home life. Although their fields were different, they blended together, happily spending their working hours in each other’s company.
In her retirement years Linda maintained her interest in the community and whenever we met in the grocery store, our conversation began where we had left it from the previous time. Linda was a lovely, wholesome lady, who came to the Northern Neck to enjoy our quality of life and in the process made that quality richer and more profound by her very being here.
Linda Rose Case Troise, December 5, 1947– August 27, 2017. R.I.P.
