Linda D'Alessandro

Linda's husband Al, shares with us the following tribute to his beautiful wife:
"Linda was born in New Jersey in 1950 and moved to Florida as a baby. She grew up in Jacksonville in the 50's and 60's. This, I believe, was the one of the best times of her life. She developed friendships built to last her entire life. In fact just recently, her 45th class reunion was held. Her high school friends all got together and sent her a huge card signed by all. Sadly, she never got to read it.
Her father took a job transfer to Pittsburgh in her junior year. That is when I met the love of my life. After Linda graduated from high school, she moved back to Florida and I went off to college. The separation was short-lived. Married on May 24, 1969 armed with $116 tax refund and my '65 Chevy, we started what we knew was going to be a lifetime together. And we were right. Linda worked to support us in college. Hard work was something Linda never shied away from. The only thing that would stop her from working was to be a stay at home mom to Scott and Tracy, which she did better than anyone ever could! They were her greatest joy in life, and she was fiercely protective of her kids, maybe to a fault, but I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. Everyone who knew her then, and now, realized quickly that you don't mess with Linda's kids.
When the kids got older, Linda decided to go back to work as an on-site salesperson for a home builder. She found her niche. She sold a lot of homes and won a lot of awards. She could sell! My old boss always told me that if he had hired Linda instead of me, his company would still be in business. Then Linda made a decision that would impact our family to this day. She got her real-estate license and started a real estate company. I followed a year later. The two of us worked out of the house for the next 13 years; a period of time that was like a fantasy. We were together 24/7 doing what we both love to do. More importantly, we had the freedom to be together. There were days we shut the phone off, darkened the room and watched videos all day. Then, some days we would wake up in the morning and head to Las Vegas where we would stay up for a few days then come home and sleep for 3 more. What more could you ask for? Then one day we discovered that Linda had a rare genetic enzyme deficiency that caused severe emphysema. In true Linda fashion, she fought this disease as hard as she could until it was evident that she needed a new lung. One day she was on oxygen weighing 90 pounds, the next she had a new lung; no oxygen, sitting up in bed putting on her makeup. This was a true gift of life. Two days after Linda received her transplanted lung, Jay, her first grandchild was born. Two years later Erica was born. At this point in her life, Linda could not have cared less about selling real estate - it was all about Jay and Erica.
New memories and new family traditions were created. None of which would have been possible without the selfless and generous gift made by the parents who donated their young son's lung to my wife. The last 3 years have been very difficult due to the effect of all the medicine, but Linda fought like she always did, until the very end. She and I have had our issues and were always two different people and I've never been able to figure out how we stayed married for 44 years. I tried to come up with an answer for the longest time. Now that she is gone, a part of me is missing and the answer became clear. We were not two people after all. Rather, we were one person that only death could separate."
Linda is survived by her husband Al D'Alessandro, children Scott D'Alessandro, Tracy Schlaegel and her husband Wally, grandchildren Jay and Erica Schlaegel, mother-in-law Mary D'Alessandro, sisters Cindy Willson, Nancy Mitchell, brother Mike Whelan and many loving nieces and nephews. Linda was preceded in death by her parents and her brother Courtland Whelan.

A memorial service will be held at 2:30 PM on Sunday, September 8, 2013 at LifePoint Church, 4501 Hedgcoxe Road, Plano, Texas 75024. Because of the gift Linda received, her family asks that in lieu of flowers, memorials be made in her name to www.taylorsgift.org