Linell Grundman will be remembered as a strategic force in Sandwich

When U.S. Rep. Bill Keating reflected on the life of Linell Grundman he said her vibrancy and commitment to community, will live on.

"From her volunteer efforts to serving in the (U.S.) Army to her talents in arts and theater, and her endless contributions to the town of Sandwich, in many ways, Linell lived four or five lifetimes crammed into one," said Keating, who worked with her in both Sandwich and Washington, D.C. on a variety of endeavors.

Linell Grundman died Jan 13 from an interstitial lung disease, at the age of 71.

Grundman a driving force in Sandwich

Grundman immediately injected herself into local politics, arts and theater and social activism when she moved to Sandwich in 2000 from Washington, D.C., said her husband Steven Grundman.

In addition to caring for their two children Michael and Mary Grundman, Linell Grundman directed theatricals, including "Words Before All Else," an annual autumn children's production at the Henry T. Wing School. Grundman also served two terms on the Sandwich Board of Selectmen, was a member of The Sandwich Democratic Town Committee, and advocated for issues surrounding the environment, homelessness, human rights and gun control.

Ultimately, it was children who initially motivated her interest in politics in Sandwich, said Steve Grundman.

Grundman focused on Sandwich public schools

"She paid attention to school funding and education and saw schools as strategic to Sandwich," he said. "High-quality school systems have a big reverberation on everything the community wants to do."

Environmental concerns were also a top priority, and she was particularly focused on wastewater treatment and beach erosion. She served on the Cape Cod Water Protection Collaborative.

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"If the Cape couldn't maintain a clean environment, she felt the area's social and economic life was at risk," he said.

Much of Linell Grundman's community involvement grew out of personal experience. When Linell and Steven Grundman lived in the Capitol Hill neighborhood in Washington, D.C. in the 1990s, the area was considered a sketchy part of town. On one occasion, the couple witnessed a gunfight between gang members and later Linell Grundman was robbed at gunpoint.

Active in fight against gun violence

Soon afterward, she began working with the D.C. chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, a national organization aimed at reducing gun violence. She also gave testimonials for the organization, which were published on the group's website.

"Linell believed that families should feel safe, get a good education, and live in a healthy environment," Steven Grundman.

Bob King, who met Linell Grundman during their time together on the Sandwich Democratic Town Committee, called her a social justice warrior.

"Linell never invested herself half-heartedly. If she took on a cause, she wasn't going to give it up," King said. "She persevered."

Tobin Wirt, originally from Iowa, met Linell Grundman at a Sandwich Cultural Council meeting. The duo bonded over their love of New England — a region that stood in stark contrast to the Midwest where they grew up.

She was not shy about giving her opinion, he said.

"She was always expressing herself and that was something I admired," said Wirt, co-owner of Café Chew in Sandwich.

Grundman's early life

Linell Grundman was born in Leavenworth, Kansas, and raised in Lansing, where she developed her social conscience, Steven Grundman said.

"In the 1950s and 1960s, it was a small town that was emblematic of America," he said. "An area that was booming economically and growing socially. She gained an outlook of how she wanted to work for the people."

After graduating from high school, Linell Grundman attended St. Mary College, now known as the University of St. Mary in Leavenworth. Throughout the 1970s, she also worked as an actor and singer in Texas, Florida and New York, and also performed in a country western band.

Eventually, she moved to West Germany as a civilian and worked within Army recreation, focusing on the morale and welfare of soldiers and their families. She also worked as a theatre director within the Army, and at age 33, she enlisted and served as a public health specialist in the 1st Armored Division at Ansbach, West Germany.

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In 1986, before the end of the Cold War, Linell met her husband-to-be in Hemsbach, West Germany."We met at a community theater production called 'Godspell,'" he said. "I saw her at this performance and sought her out and we started dating."

The odd intersection of theater and army is one of the constants that filled the first half of Linell Grundman's life, said Steven Grundman. The convergence led to the duo's relationship and eventual marriage in Cambridge in 1987.

For King, who is co-owner of Café Chew in Sandwich, Linell Grundman's time in Germany also contributed to an extensive Christmas decoration collection that was displayed throughout her home every December. She became attached to a German line of decorations, King said, that could be found in Christmas fairs and stores along the Romantic Road in Rothenburg ob der Tauber in southern Germany.

"To go into her house at Christmas, was like going into a Christmas gift shop," he said.

Elements of Sandwich leadership carries over to critical church contributions in D.C.

Despite being diagnosed with interstitial lung disease, Linell Grundman became immersed in both vestry and governance at St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Capitol Hill, when she moved back to Washington D.C. in 2018. In 2021, she became the senior warden at the church. The role somewhat mirrored her responsibilities as chair of the Sandwich Select Board, said Steven Grundman.

"She was all about aligning community with the church's leadership," he said.

In 2017, Linell Grundman was convicted of driving under the influence. Immediately following her arrest, Steven Grundman said she stopped drinking. Her struggle gave her a deeper appreciation of human frailty, he said.

"She already had a very well-developed sensibility for people who struggle in various ways," he said. "It was hard for her to continue work she wanted to do, but ultimately, she worked hard to do better."

A celebration of life will be held at 10 a.m. on Feb. 25 at Sandwich Town Hall. For Steven Grundman, the event will be a chance to think about the impact she had on Sandwich.

"She was gregarious and insistent on things she cared about and wanted other people to care about," he said. "She led a big, meaningful and widely varied life."

Contact Rachael Devaney at rdevaney@capecodonline.com. Follow her on Twitter: @RachaelDevaney.

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Linell Grundman a politician and activist focused on Sandwich