Sally Poole Linvill, 94, volunteer

Sally Poole Linvill, 94, formerly of Radnor, a volunteer leader and fund-raiser for community projects, died Sunday, April 27, of dementia at Beaumont at Bryn Mawr, where she had lived for the last 13 years.

Born in Canton, Mass., she graduated from the Brimmer School in Boston in 1936, and attended Smith College in Northampton, Mass., for two years.

She married John Barton Linvill on June 13, 1942. While he served in the Navy in the South Pacific, she worked at the MIT Radar Laboratory in Cambridge.

After the war, the two moved to the Philadelphia area, living in Wayne until 1956 and then Radnor until 2001, when they moved to Beaumont.

Mrs. Linvill devoted her life to volunteer work in the community. She provided years of service and management expertise to many charitable organizations.

She was a lifelong member and a chairwoman of the board for the Junior Service Board, which supported the work of the Visiting Nurses Association of the Neighborhood League of Wayne, its Dental Clinic, and its Nursing Scholarship Program.

She was active in Radnor Township politics, serving as a judge of elections for many years. And she actively supported the Radnor Memorial Library by heading the fund-raising for a new library building in the 1960s.

As a board member of the Committee of 1926, which supports the preservation and programs of Historic Strawberry Mansion in Fairmount Park, Mrs. Linvill curated the new Millennium Doll Exhibition in 2000.

Working with Emilie Bregy, she wrote to the governors of any states that had not donated dolls to the Sesquicentennial Doll Collection housed at Strawberry Mansion since 1950.

She completed the display that helped interpret the history of all 50 states. As a result, the space for the doll exhibit was named the "Sally Linvill Room."

She was a member of the vestry of St. Martin's Episcopal Church in Radnor and a tireless fund-raiser for the church. She also served for many years on the executive committee of the Episcopal Church Women of the Diocese of Pennsylvania.

"Through her own example, she taught everyone who knew her about giving to community, commitment to history and country, and generosity to people in need," her family said in a tribute.

An athlete, Mrs. Linvill played tennis and golf at Martin's Dam Club in Wayne and St. Davids Golf Club, often organizing large tournament events.

Surviving, in addition to her husband of 71 years, is son John Barton Jr.; daughter Sally Sumner Linvill Bund; five grandsons; and seven great-grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Tuesday, May 6, at St. Martin's Episcopal Church, 400 King of Prussia Rd., Radnor, Pa. 19087. A reception will follow at Bolingbroke, the parish house at St. Martin's. Interment is in the Washington Memorial Chapel Churchyard in Valley Forge Park and will be private.

Donations may be made to St. Martin's at the address above, or to Friends of Historic Strawberry Mansion, Box 539, Moorestown, N.J. 08057.

610-313-8102