Linda B. Randolph | Medical writer, 41
Linda Bird Randolph, 41, of Newtown Square, a medical writer, died Thursday at her home. Autopsy results are pending.
Mrs. Randolph wrote for several University of Pennsylvania publications, including freelance cover stories on radiology, global health, and women's health issues for Penn Medicine, the magazine of the University of Pennsylvania's Medical School and health system.
John Shea, the magazine's editor, hired Mrs. Randolph in 1996 as assistant editor of another university publication, Penn Health. She was the magazine's editor when it closed in 1999. Shea said that he stayed in touch with Mrs. Randolph and that they exchanged e-mails about her children's accomplishments.
Previously, she worked in communications for Reliance Insurance and as a copy editor at the Bucks County Courier Times.
Mrs. Randolph graduated from Brandywine High School in Wilmington and earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Delaware, where she met her future husband. She enjoyed family vacations in Bar Harbor, Maine.
Mrs. Randolph had been battling alcoholism for several years, her husband, Paul Randolph, said. She entered a treatment program in October, he said, and did well until recently. "People need to realize," he said, "that alcoholism is a deadly disease."
In addition to her husband, she is survived by her father, William E. Bird Jr.; a son, Julian; and a daughter, Jane.
A memorial service will be at 2 p.m. today at Marple Presbyterian Church, 105 N. Marple Rd., Broomall. Burial will be in Grace Lawn Cemetery, Wilmington.