Published by the Boston Globe
BOSTON — Beloved philanthropist Joyce Linde, wife of Edward Linde (deceased) for 47 years, devoted and loving mother and grandmother to Douglas and Carol Linde and their children Kate, Madeline and Sam, Karen Linde Packman and Jeffrey Packman and their children Julia and Hannah died on March 8 at the age of 81. Joyce met her future husband Ed while he was an undergraduate at MIT in 1959 and she was a student at Boston University. They married in November 1962. Her grandchildren were the joy of her life. She was 50 when her first grandchild was born, and she was able to share her passions for art, music and adventure with all five grandchildren as they grew into young adults.
While her primary residence was always the Boston area, she spent many summers in her beloved Berkshires with her family and friends, walking and appreciating the incredible beauty of the Richmond hills. She also spent countless hours enjoying music at Tanglewood, where she and her husband were fixtures. She was instrumental in the founding of the Tanglewood Learning Institute, which provides year-round music programing for musicians and the Berkshire community at the Linde Center, opened in 2019 as an extension of the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s (BSO) Tanglewood campus. Joyce served on the board of trustees of the BSO starting in 2010.
Joyce had the good fortune to be able to give back to the city she called home and was committed to strengthening Boston’s cultural institutions to expand accessibility for all Bostonians, regardless of background. Joyce could always be found at the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) and in 2001, she became a museum Trustee where she chaired and served on numerous committees; she was a past Chair of the Collections Committee, as well as a member of Executive Committee, Campus Planning and Building Committee, and the Learning and Community Engagement Committee. She, along with her husband, supported the Community Arts Initiative, where the MFA partners with community organizations so that young people work with an artist to create a piece inspired by the MFA’s collection and exhibited in the Edward H. Linde Gallery. Her support was critical in establishing the new folk and self-taught art department, which serves to reimagine the museums folk art collection through dynamic installations and public programming. With a deep love of contemporary art, she was instrumental in creating space for the public to experience it at the museum.
“Joyce had a remarkable and sustained influence on the Museum of Fine Arts,” said Matthew Teitelbaum, Ann and Graham Gund director of MFA. “She was inspiring, always thoughtful and deeply beloved. A favorite activity was watching the sunrise, listening to music. It was the perpetual beginning. Her optimism and belief in all around her, and her challenges to all of us to think differently and love deeply will stay with us forever.” Joyce was passionate about local artists and supported Now + There’s Accelerator Program, through which more than 24 emerging artists have created temporary public art throughout Boston’s neighborhoods. She also provided early support for the first Public Art Triennial set to open in 2025 and championed its mission of celebrating local and international talent and providing free access to art for the city of Boston.
Joyce, along with her late husband, were lifelong supporters of MIT and in particular undergraduate financial aid. More recently, she worked with MIT to create a new music building set to open in 2025. She envisioned the Music Building being a resource for MIT students that would complement their other academic pursuits and as well as being a place that young musicians from throughout Boston could have meaningful, long-term engagement in the arts. Along with her family, she has run the Linde Foundation for the past 25 years and has made major impacts on dozens of community organizations in the greater Boston area, from the BIDMC with a focus on primary care and Dana Farber with a focus on Cancer Chemical Biology, and most recently their Center for Therapeutic Discovery, to community-based organizations like Boston Children’s Chorus and West End House Boys and Girls Club to ensure that children across the city have hands-on, high-quality, sustained experience in the arts.
“Joyce’s own passion for the arts was only surpassed by her deep belief that everyone should be given equitable access to the arts,” said Julie Mott Toulmin, her philanthropic advisor of many years. “Her devotion to this cause was proven time and time again through her philanthropic giving, her time, and her appreciation of those who mentor and teach young people. While Joyce was a stalwart supporter of larger arts institutions, she understood the importance of supporting smaller youth arts organizations that have direct ties to the children of Boston. Her understanding of the arts landscape has made it possible for the community of Boston to benefit from having the arts as a part of their lives.”
Funeral services and memorial observance are private. A public celebration of Joyce Linde’s life was held at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, on Tuesday, March 12, followed by a reception there. Please omit flowers. Remembrances would be appreciated to the Community Arts Initiative at the Museum of Fine Arts, and the BSO’s Linde Learning Center at Tanglewood.
