It is with great sadness that we announce that our beloved Linda Ellen Mauser passed away on Monday, November 4, 2024, in Sarasota, Florida after gracefully battling Alzheimer's for many years. She was eighty years old. Linda was born on October 1, 1944, in Albany, Georgia. She attended Auburn University, where she met the love of her life and eventual husband, Ken. The two married in 1964.
Linda loved her family, her friends, and her kitties. One of her favorite things to do was to travel with Ken. Together the two traveled the globe, visiting forty-seven countries, including virtually all of Europe.
Closer to home, she loved spending parts of her winters and summers in Breckenridge, Colorado. Always up for an adventure, she would frequently pull on her hiking boots and grab her hiking poles to venture out on the trails around Summit County. Some of her favorite times were enjoying Colorado with her family, whether it was hiking in the area, attending a concert in the community, horseback riding, or savoring the wonderful mountain cuisine. Linda lived life to the fullest, and that sometimes-included traveling with her friends. Some of her favorite adventures were shared with a group of dedicated friends. This group, who called themselves the "Montana Mommas," journeyed to many beautiful spots for hiking, horseback riding, and special time together, including the rugged mountains of Montana or closer afield in North Carolina. Another of her favorite memories was visiting Australia with her friends Diana and Linda, where the three went scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef.
Linda had a passion for medical research and helped publish twelve papers in various medical journals, including The Journal of Immunology. While at M.D. Anderson in Houston, she worked with Dr. Michael DeBakey's team to develop the antilymphocyte serum used in one of the first human-to-human heart transplants. At Johns Hopkins University she worked for Dr. Kimi and Dr. Teri Ishizaka on their immunology research related to allergies and their discovery of IgE, which earned Japan's Emperor's Award. In Chicago at Rush Medical School, she continued to work on allergy research.
Eventually she made her way to KU Medical Center in Kansas City and worked with another renowned immunology researcher, Dr. Gary Wood, who focused on T-cells in cancer research.
Linda leaves behind her husband of sixty years, Ken; two sons, Shawn (Arleen) and Brett (Jennifer); three grandchildren, Jacob (Nina), Oliver, and Emma Mauser, and a niece, Kim Bell. Preceding her in death are her parents, Earl "Mac" McLendon and Merle (Parr) McLendon, and a brother, Earl McLendon, Jr.
Services for Linda will be held Friday, November 8, at 1:00 at Brown & Sons Funeral Home located at 5624 26th Street West, Bradenton, FL, 34207. Memorials may be made in Linda's honor to the Alzheimer's Association at ALZ.org. The family would like to extend a heartfelt thank you for the compassionate care provided by Plymouth Harbor- Smith Care Center, Extended Family Home Care and Continuum Care of Florida- Hospice.
Brown & Sons Funeral Homes & Crematory 43rd Street Chapel, 604 43rd Street West, Bradenton, FL 34209, is in charge of arrangements.
