"Ain't it wonderful, Jim, how much people can mean to each other?" - Willa Cather
Linden “Lindy” Larrick Moot—beloved wife, loving mother, sister, aunt, teacher, friend and (very) proud grandmother—passed away peacefully on the evening of January 22nd after a courageous three-year battle with breast cancer. Lindy’s final moments were spent enveloped in love, surrounded by her family in their Marietta home as Louis Armstrong’s What a Wonderful World played in the background.
Lindy’s life was an extraordinary one. Born in 1954 in Winchester, Virginia, she went on to attend the University of Virginia as a member of the first complete female class and received her master’s in Early Childhood Education as a proud Wahoo. After graduating, she became a teacher, fulfilling her passion for instilling a true love of learning in children. Few escaped an encounter with Lindy without learning something new. Her decades-long teaching career spanned special education, kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade. In 2010 Lindy was named the Georgia Elementary Science Teacher of the Year, a recognition of her unparalleled creativity and passion in the classroom.
Lindy was an exceptional teacher, but her true life-calling was being a mom. She raised her three children with unrivaled amounts of love, humor, support and patience. She lived for the moments when her whole family could be together and never missed an opportunity to spend a happy hour with her kids - sitting with a glass of chardonnay in her hand and her husband’s arm around her shoulder, at least until a Motown song came on that required her to jump up and burst into song and dance.
The natural environment held a special place in Lindy’s heart. She supported numerous environmental causes, spearheaded a naturally composting garden at Eastvalley Elementary and found strength and serenity in the walking trails of Sope Creek, even during trying periods of chemotherapy. Less than four months ago, Lindy hiked the beautiful yet treacherous “The Narrows” trail in Zion National Park, refusing to let cancer dictate what were to be her final few months.
A vibrant, luminous force of nature, Lindy was known for her uproarious full-bodied laughter as well as her razor-sharp wit and intellect. She advocated for social justice with boundless empathy and grace while detesting hypocrisy, particularly from those in elected office. She held a deep love for all things chocolate, was no stranger to a bawdy joke, never stopped learning, withheld judgement and loved the people around her fiercely. She sparkled with life and sought truth and justice in all of their forms.
Lindy’s spirit lives on through the countless lives she touched through her teaching, her Wahoo friends from UVA, her inseparable neighborhood friends dubbed the Yaya Sisterhood, her community of fellow teachers and friends, and her adoring family. She is survived by her husband Robert Moot; her children Robert (Robby) Moot, Laurie Moot, and Peter Moot; and her grandson Elliot Horn.
A virtual service in celebration of her life will take place Sunday February 7, 2021 at 12:00pm EST. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in Lindy’s name to the Equal Justice Initiative and The Nature Conservancy.