Linda Grube Eisenhauer passed away unexpectedly on June 19, after what was a brief spell befell her at her Crown Point home, stricken by not feeling well. She was 86. It was a surprising announcement for the many who knew Linda, including myself, all of us familiar with her and her active, busy social world devoted to connecting others to the many arts opportunities we are blessed to share in Northwest Indiana.
She is most associated with her tireless work with South Shore Arts, the Northwest Indiana Symphony, the Women’s Association of the Northwest Indiana Symphony Society and as a founding member of the Regional Arts Council. “From her passing and our many memories, it becomes clear that there might not have been a Northwest Indiana Symphony without Linda’s support, enthusiasm and drive for its evolution from a small band of community volunteers to a professional orchestra,” said John Cain, director emeritus, South Shore Arts and Northwest Indiana Symphony. “I used to joke that Linda’s love for classical music was so deep-rooted that I suspected she had actually invented the violin and several woodwinds.
” Cain said Linda first became active with the orchestra when she was invited to join the women’s symphony association in June 1965, when Maestro Leo Krakow was conductor at the time and A. Martin Katz was mayor of Gary. She said the orchestra musicians didn’t come under the umbrella of the union until the late 1970s and she recalled helping organize the f.
