Weissport lost one of its most active community volunteers Monday.

Linda Schoenberger, 68, passed away due to complications from COVID-19, and her colleagues are remembering her many years of service to the town she loved.

“At the end of the day, your reputation is all about how people remember you, and I’ll remember Linda quite fondly,” said Duane Dellecker, who worked with Schoenberger on the Weissport Recreation Commission.

Dellecker said the two began working together almost 20 years ago helping with yard sales in the Weissport park. That morphed into discussion on ways to raise money to improve the parks, which led to the Redneck Festival.

“No matter what the activity was in Weissport, Linda was there to help and hone her social skills,” Dellecker said. “She was also big into family and she loved watching her grandkids.”

Schoenberger served on many local committees, Weissport Borough Council, president of the Redneck Festival, the Concerned Citizens of Weissport and the Lehighton Pool Pals. She was also involved with Easter Seals, the Lions Club, and was a past Brownie/Girl Scout leader.

Her obituary reads, “Linda found the good in everything. She was gentle, yet brave and inspired those around her. She believed in people so fiercely, they couldn’t help but believe in themselves. She lived strongly for her family and spent a full life surrounded by those who loved her most. She dedicated her life to others, giving selflessly of her time, energy and passion every chance that she got.”

Linda’s daughter, Jennifer Drofich, said while many people wait to be asked to volunteer their time, her mother did not.

“She just stepped right in, no matter what it was,” Drofich said. “She called me one time and said she was helping out with a group who was supporting people with dementia. We didn’t even know anyone with dementia at the time and we weren’t impacted by it at all, but she still just wanted to help. She never needed a reason. Her heart did not discriminate against anyone.”

Keith “Jake” Boyer said his working relationship Linda goes back a long way.

“Almost everything we did here in Weissport, Linda would support it,” Boyer said. “I know I appreciate all the hours she put in volunteering her time and the town of Weissport appreciates it as well.”

Boyer used the Betty Mullen Brey statue in the Weissport Park as one of the many projects Schoenberger supported over the years. Dellecker also recalled how active she had been in 2017 when Weissport celebrated the 225th anniversary of the town’s founding and 150th anniversary of its incorporation as a borough.

Even when illness struck and Schoenberger was going through kidney dialysis, she was there for her family, Drofich said.

“She would stop anything if her kids or grandkids needed something,” Drofich said. “She’d go get a gallon of milk in the middle of the night if that’s what it came down to. It’s hard to picture how one person can have so much good in their heart. I’m definitely trying to model my life after my mom.”

It’s the second big loss for Weissport in the past few months.

Gregory Robert “Pappy” May, who served on Weissport Borough Council, passed away in late January.

“Linda was certainly more out in the forefront, while Pap did a lot behind the scenes, but they were both very active,” Dellecker said. “It’s really a sad day anytime you lose a good person.”