Linda Ruth Dadak (née Mackey), 81, passed away on the morning on November 22, 2024 at the McCarthy Care Center in Sandwich, MA. An intrepid traveler and an accomplished artist, a devoted wife, mother and soccer grandmother, Linda is survived by her husband, Gregory J. Dadak; two daughters, Angela Dadak and Heather Hill; and one grandson, Alexander (Xan) Middents.
Born on May 31, 1943 to Henry and Rebecca Mackey in Beverly, MA, Linda attended Salem High School and was attending Northern Essex Community College in Haverhill, MA when she met Greg. She lived all over the country while he served in Vietnam. When Greg was posted to Camp Edwards, they settled and raised their two daughters in Cataumet in 1976. Linda was particularly proud of her extensive home garden and a bevy of animals. In the community, she volunteered support for the Bourne Conservation Trust, the local school’s string program, and the Cataumet Civic Association. Linda was an avid tennis player in her former years and an enthusiastic tennis spectator in her later, and all throughout her life the ocean played an important role be it swimming or sailing with Greg, or relaxing by the water wherever she was.
Linda was an artist from a young age and developed that interest professionally beginning in the 1990s. Starting with graphic design, she later became an accomplished mosaicist, specializing in stained glass and pique assiette (broken china). She taught at Cape Cod Community College from 2003 to 2005 and curated several juried mosaic exhibitions on the Cape throughout the 2000s. Linda played an integral part in the creation of the Falmouth Dog Park mural as well as the Shining Sea Bikepath Mural (located under the old Palmer Ave bridge). Her mosaics can also be seen in the Cape Cod Hospital Discover Garden. She exhibited at several national juried exhibitions, and was a long-standing member of the Society of American Mosaic Artists (SAMA).
In her later years, she split her time between Cape Cod and a home at Horseshoe Cove in Bradenton, FL, while occasionally adventuring around the country in her Casita with beloved dog Otter. Her Florida community became some of her closest friends and brought her tremendous joy over the last few years. In letters Linda left for her family, she signs off with words that can encourage us all: “Continue following your dreams. Be the person you are and the person you want to be! And most of all, continue to always be kind!”
A celebration of her life with family and close friends will be held in May at their home in Cataumet.
