Isaac Baxter Linney

MIDDLETON-We lost Isaac Baxter Linney on Friday, December 5, 2014 due to complications of diabetes. He was 69. We wish Isaac were here to write this obituary because he had a way with words. He was generous, supportive, caring, well-read, and politically astute. Family and friends will miss him for the rest of our lives. Born on July 5, 1945 to the late Virgil Gates Linney and Juanita McLain Linney, Isaac was raised in Hickory, NC. In his youth, he participated in the local Baptist Church, debated, and actually was a Young Republican for a time. A voracious learner, Isaac read the entire encyclopedia as a boy, from A to Z and the entire Bible. After graduating from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, Isaac lived in Berkley, Boston, Maine, New York City, and eventually Madison for the last 40 years. He worked actively to bring an end to the Viet Nam War and remained politically involved ever after. Somewhere along the way, he learned to make fabulous deviled eggs and Rumaki. He lent his great singing voice to countless annual renditions of the “Hallelujah Chorus.” Isaac married Margaret Ann Walsh in 1972 and they enjoyed many adventures for 42 years. Together they devoted themselves to their respective arts—he to writing and woodworking and she to painting—often collaborating on projects and gifts for friends and family. They shared life’s joys and challenges. Isaac was diabetic from an early age and Margaret died in 2013 from Parkinson’s disease. They cared for each other all the way through. Isaac loved music, traveling, biking, and reading, as well as a good cup of coffee and a good beer. His favorite author was William Faulkner. Isaac wrote but never published two draft novels in the southern mode. He was a great conversationalist and had interest in a vast array of subjects. He had excellent woodworking skills and worked at many jobs related to carpentry. In the 70’s and 80’s, Isaac coached numerous softball, basketball, and volleyball teams for and with adults with disabilities, many of them clients of the Goodwill Recreational Resource Center. In recent years, he managed family-owned apartments. As health problems became more pronounced, his greatest joy was walking their Standard Poodle, Pally Kingman IV. They were a common sight around Isaac and Margaret’s east side home on Willy Street and their west side condo. Isaac is survived by a Sister-In-Law, Dorothy Linney, a niece, Shirley Linney, of Maryland, nephews (who are son's of his brother Hayes), along with other relatives in North Carolina. His wife, parents, brothers and sister, Joann preceded him in death. As a member by marriage of the Bill and Marge Walsh family of Cross Plains, WI, Isaac will be missed by many siblings-in-law and their spouses, nephews, nieces, a great-nephew, a stepson and his family. Isaac leaves friends in many states and on both east and west sides of Madison. The family is grateful to the staff and doctors of the UW Hospital and Clinics and the Wisconsin Dialysis Center for the care Isaac received, especially by Dr. Ryan and Dr. Meredith. We also wish to thank Kim, Thomas, Dorla, Spencer, and Eileen for their friendship and contributions to Isaac’s well-being. There will be a memorial celebration of Isaac’s life at a final Happy Hour on Sunday, December 28, 4 – 7 p.m., at the Harmony Bar & Grill, 2201 Atwood Avenue in Madison. It would please Isaac if, in lieu of flowers, a donation would be made in support of an organization that makes lives better. Online condolences may be made at www.gundersonfh.com. Gunderson West Funeral & Cremation Care 7435 University Avenue (608)831-6761