Linda (Eacker) Van Iseghem's Obituary
Linda (Eacker) Van Iseghem of East Syracuse, NY, and most recently of Gansevoort, NY, died Sunday, August 4, 2024, after a brief illness. She was 72.
Born in Little Falls, NY, Linda graduated from James A. Green High School in Dolgeville, NY and went on to obtain a degree as a Licensed Practical Nurse.
She dedicated her life to caregiving for her patients, her family, and her community. Beginning as a candy striper at 16, Linda loved all her nursing staff positions, including: the maternity wing at Little Falls and Nathan Littauer Hospitals, Hospice in Florida, the Alzheimer’s unit at Wesley Healthcare, and caring for workers and their families as part of the Quad Graphics medical team.
Linda never saw a flower she didn’t want to plant in her garden. She devoted her free time to cooking and baking for her family and friends, canning applesauce, making sure hot chocolate chip cookies were fresh from the oven as soon as her grandkids walked through the door, and ensuring that birthdays and Christmases were extra special for her loved ones.
Throughout her life, Linda trained and volunteered for the American Red Cross, for which she was a prolific blood donor. She explored her artistic talents such as painting, drawing, and writing, she buzzed through thick books, snorkeled in the Caribbean, went fly fishing with her brother in the Battenkill, kayaked and canoed Lewey Lake, and hiked many trails in the Adirondacks and beyond. She even trained with her daughter and friends for the Lake Placid Half Marathon. Like her spirit animal the dolphin, Linda embraced and exuded peace and harmony with all those she encountered—such as her lifelong friends, and fellow nurses, Karen, Laura, Debbie, and Linda.
She is survived by her husband of nearly 53 years, Jack; her daughter, Lisa Millis (Chris) of Saratoga Springs; her twin grandsons, Harrison and Jack; her daughter, Sarah Lerro (Jeff) of East Syracuse; her granddaughter, Kate; her grandson, Clayton; her brother, George Eacker (Loretta); her nephew, Christopher of New Hampshire; and her favorite gardening companion, a mini golden doodle named Henry.
Her family thanks the palliative care team at Crouse Hospital for their compassion and Thomas J. Pirro Jr. Funeral Home for assisting with her arrangements. A private celebration of life will be scheduled on a date to be determined.
In lieu of flowers, the family encourages everyone to remember her by planting something, baking something to share, visiting a neighbor, showing love and kindness and paying it forward. That is how Linda will forever be remembered.
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