Linda Ostermeier of Bloomington, formerly of Crawfordsville, was born on Jan. 4, 1942, at Deaconess Hospital in Evansville, and passed away at home surrounded by her daughters and husband on June 15, 2026.
Linda was many things — wife, mother, grandmother, traveler, bridge player, advocate, and friend — but at her core she was a theater major.
She attended the University of Evansville as a young single mother, where she met the love of her life and favorite bridge partner, Robert Ostermeier. Together they built a marriage that lasted nearly six decades. She loved him deeply and without question.
Linda loved acting and would adopt accents by proxy. She threw enthusiastic tea parties and loved the color yellow. She was funny, sharp, and wonderfully sarcastic, with strong opinions and no hesitation about sharing them.
Linda helped people. Her house always had an available bed for a troubled teen or friend. She worked as a social worker, a teacher, and a director of not for profits. Long after retirement she generously donated her social security to causes across the country.
Linda only wanted daughters. She was a lifelong feminist who believed in equal opportunity, equal pay, and a woman’s right to choose. She taught her three daughters that women could do anything. They believed her.
Linda didn’t do anything halfway. At Christmas time there was a tree in every room (including the bathrooms). She would finish a book in a day and immediately start another. She collected jewelry, pets and her daughters’ girlfriends.
She traveled to England, France, Guatemala, South Africa, Dubai, Portugal, Switzerland, Germany and many places in between. She was an accomplished bridge player who enjoyed the challenge of the game and the friendships.
She is survived by her husband, Robert Ostermeier; her daughters, Cindy Hooker (Fred), Jennifer Ostermeier and Kendra Singelais (Robert); and her grandchildren, Anna Hooker, Brianna Singelais, Jonah Oufkir, Aida Oufkir and Leo Singelais; and two great-grandchildren.
She will be deeply missed by her extended chosen family, the Steeles, who enriched her life with late night card games, humor, generosity, and their presence over many years.
Visitation will be held 2-4 p.m. Saturday, July 11, followed by a celebration of life service at Ellettsville First United Methodist Church, 803 W. Temperance St. in Ellettsville.
