Linda Marguerite Horen

Linda Marguerite Horen November 11, 1951 - December 9, 2025 Linda Marguerite Horen (lovingly known as Mumsey to her daughters) is remembered as often wearing her favorite jeans dress while working on art projects at the kitchen table. She could make snowflakes out of popsicle sticks and reindeer out of toilet paper rolls. Actually, she could find a way to make something special out of pretty much anything that she found, from newspapers to bottle caps to bits of yarn. It was her very own form of magic. One minute, you’d think it’s trash, and the next, it would be covered in glitter and hanging on the Christmas tree. If Linda wasn’t at home making art, then she’d probably be alongside her husband at the softball fields with a hat on her head and a cooler of Gatorade at her side to make sure her girls stayed hydrated. She cheered on her daughters in almost any weather, be it rain, freezing cold, or the scorching heat and humidity of a Virginia summer. After games, it would be home to clean softball uniforms and smelly socks. It’s amazing when you consider the number of uniforms that she washed. She probably broke a world record for the most number of softball uniforms ever washed by one person. Somehow, she managed to get all the dirt stains out, and, let me tell you, her girls got down and dirty when they played. Linda didn’t start out as a magical artist or a record-breaking uniform washer, though. She was born in Washington, D.C., on November 11, 1951, the first of seven children born to Benjamin and Helen Czarnaski. Linda learned early on how to manage kids as she watched over her younger brothers and sisters. She graduated from Falls Church High School in 1970, went on to take classes at NOVA Community College, and later graduated from George Mason University with a degree in nursing. Before settling down with a job, Linda went on a tour that took her to Egypt, Israel, Rome, and Greece, and she returned with a bunch of souvenirs that eventually became playthings for her daughters. In fact, Linda’s daughters turned a lot of her things into dress-up clothes and Halloween costumes, but let’s not talk about that. Linda met the love of her life, Robert (aka Rick), through the local Catholic Young Adults for Christ (CAYAC) group. He first noticed her at a volleyball game, though she left early and rather quickly. Little did he know, she’d ripped her shorts and had quietly sneaked out before anyone noticed the gaping hole. Ripped pants couldn’t keep those two apart, however, as he connected with her at other CAYAC events, and their love bloomed. They married on August 11, 1978, and settled down in Springfield, Virginia, where they raised their three girls. Though she first worked as a nurse, Linda later found a job as a preschool teacher for the Christian Weekday Program (CWP) at Springfield United Methodist Church, which gave her a more flexible schedule for taking care of her wild, tomboy daughters. It was also the perfect job for her because remember how she grew up looking after her siblings? Remember her magical ability to create artwork out of anything? All of those skills could explode into full power at CWP. She was the Ultimate Preschool Teacher! Eventually, however, multiple sclerosis (MS) struck Linda, and her life changed. There are no words to explain just how horrible that disease is. Even though MS robbed Linda of her physical abilities bit by bit over decades, she continued to find joy in life in so many ways. From singing songs to writing poems to making art for as long as she was able, Linda brought happiness to everyone around her. She had an ability to find a bright side to life, and even when things got challenging, she’d bounce back with movie trivia, or names of all the dogs she could think of, or a softly sung performance of "Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ral (That’s An Irish Lullaby)" to bring a smile back into our lives. Linda slipped away quietly on December 9, 2025, for she was never one for wanting any fuss or attention. She just gently stepped into Heaven. She leaves behind so many beautiful, happy memories with her family: her husband, Robert; her daughters Mary (Brian), Carol (Jon), and Ellen (Dan); her seven grandchildren, Ben, Sean, Allison, Will, Lizzie, Cara, and Finn; and her four surviving siblings, Mark, Lisa, Maryann, and Joseph. She now joins her parents, her brother Michael, and her sister Leanne. Linda’s memorial service will be held on January 10, 2025, at 1:30 p.m. at the Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Alexandria, Virginia. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (https://www.nationalmssociety.org/), and help us rid the world of MS.

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Linda Marguerite Horen

November 11, 1951 - December 9, 2025