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Linda Susan RIVA

December 23, 2006

Linda Susan Riva passed away on December 23, 2005 at Chilliwack General Hospital. She was first diagnosed with cancer in 1991 and went through many chemotherapy treatments since then. Her courage in dealing with cancer, especially in the last several months, was inspiring to everyone who met her. Linda participated in the Terry Fox Run each year in support of cancer research.

Linda was born in Rivers, Man. on November 22, 1948, the second daughter of Hilda and Joseph Riva. Her family followed her father as he was posted first to England, from 1956 to 1960, and then to Camp Borden in Ontario from 1960 to 1962. In 1962 her father retired from the Armed Forces and the family moved to Scarborough. Linda completed high school in Scarborough, where she played basketball and competed in track. After graduating from high school, she attended the University of Waterloo where she obtained both her Bachelor of Mathematics and Masters of Mathematics degrees. She was one of the few women in her classes.

In the early 1970s she moved to B.C. to study fluid dynamics in Oceanography. She discovered a love of teaching and started her career at Malaspina College and then Okanagan College. In 1976 she joined Fraser Valley College as one of the pioneering members of the Matchematics Department.

Linda lived in a cottage in the woods at Cultus Lake for the last 27 years. She loved animals, especially her pet cats, Waldo, Hilbert, Wylie and Emmy, and sponsored a dog at Best Friends Animal Society in Utah. Linda also supported the Chilliwack Animal Safe Haven and Chilliwack SPCA. More than anything, she enjoyed spending time with her friends going on cruises, to operas, concerts, plays, and movies, or just getting together for a glass of wine or dinner. She was a good organizer and often coordinated the outings with her friends. She appreciated good music of almost any type, good food (she never met a dessert she didn’t like) and a properly made latte. She was adamant that the best latte to be found was at B.C. Connections, where she was a regular morning patron.

She had a wonderful sense of humour and kept her friends laughing with endless stories and her rendition of “Happy Birthday to You’’. for all these reasons and so many more, everyone who knew her will dearly miss her.

A Service of Remembrance will be held for Linda at 12 noon on Sunday, Jan. 29, 2006 at Evergreen Hall, 9291 Corbould St., Chilliwack, B.C.

Donations in lieu of flowers may be made to the Canadian Cancer Society, or Chilliwack Hospital Foundation. The Linda Riva Scholarship for Women in Mathematics has been created at UCFV and donations would be welcomed.

Arrangements in care of McLean’s Funeral Services Ltd.



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