Juliet Linder, Minneapolis nursing leader who consulted nationally on cardiac pacemakers, dies

As a nurse, Juliet Linder helped with more than just patients. She assisted in revising national industry rules and was a cross-country consultant on cardiac pacemakers.

But it was her optimism amid a 25-year battle with multiple sclerosis that her friends and family say they'll remember most. Linder, 66, of Minneapolis, died March 20.

"Juliet will be remembered for her warm embrace of people and her faith in the face of adversity," said Hennepin County Judge Tanya Bransford, a longtime friend. "She had a big smile ... [and] deep faith."

Linder, who was born in Virginia, moved to Minnesota with her husband, Harvey Linder, after they met at Duke University and got married. She was drawn to nursing because she loved helping people, he said.

But she also had higher aspirations, getting a master's degree in nursing management from the University of Minnesota and landing a job supervising the cardiac and coronary care unit at Hennepin County Medical Center.

She was active in the Minnesota Black Nurses Association, and as president of the Twin Cities chapter of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses helped revise the national certification exam. She worked as a clinical instructor at St. Mary's Junior College, Minneapolis Community and Technical College and Divine Redeemer Hospital in South St. Paul; later in her career, she worked at Fairview St. Mary's and then Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis.

While helping raise two sons, she participated in a tennis league, book club and women's investment club. During a tennis game in 1991, she started missing routine shots. She thought she had pinched a nerve, but after a series of tests, doctors told Linder she had multiple sclerosis. For a while, she took steroids and continued on with no symptoms.

One day, Linder struggled to walk. Multiple sclerosis began to rob her of the ability to work. But her husband said she adjusted to a new normal, finding the joy in life around her — from watching birds build a nest or bees land on her hand, to looking out over the water while eating ice cream at Lake Harriet or fish tacos at Lake Calhoun.

"She learned to enjoy just what she could see," he said. "Even though she dealt with a lot of travails and difficulties ... she remained positive and upbeat and hopeful."

In her southwest Minneapolis neighborhood, she was like a surrogate mother to her sons' friends, welcoming them with soda and snacks as they played video games — and cracking down on their swearing.

"She was always there and always happy to see you," said Mike Brandt, who grew up nearby. "She was the kind of parent we should all aspire to be — patient, tolerant and kind."

She was also deeply religious. Later in life, she and her husband launched a newsletter and website where she wrote about God and faith. "The incredible faith in God she had and this sense of joy you had around her ... it was amazing," said Lynda McDonnell, Brandt's mother.