By Mary O’KEEFE

Recently our community received the news that former Crescenta Valley High School principal Linda Junge had passed away. We had been following her fight with cancer for a very long time. She is now at peace but for those left behind there is a hole in the world. 

I met Linda when she was public information officer (PIO) at Glendale Unified School District. I had just begun my career in journalism and was assigned the education beat. My youngest daughter was in elementary school at the time and I would take her to all the GUSD board meetings. She would sit under the press table doing her homework while I listened and reported on the meeting. Linda and I would sit at the press table and got to know each other very well. 

Even though the meetings weren’t as contentious as they have been recently there was still a lot of drama, lots of acronyms (education departments are famous for them) and a lot of issues being thrown all at once at her. Throughout the entire time, she never let the public see her stressed. She was calm and smiled through it all. I got to know her well enough over the years to have honest conversations with her about the trials and tribulations of being a representative of the district. She took everything in her own positive stride, which was so impressive. 

Linda moved from PIO to several positions within the district including as principal at John Muir Elementary School and then in 2013 she took on the role of principal at Crescenta Valley High School. 

Linda came to CVHS following one of the most difficult times in the school’s history. The year before she began there was a very public death on campus by suicide. Many students witnessed the tragedy and anyone who walked onto campus after that felt the incredible sense of loss, and fear, about how – and if – the school would recover. 

One of my favorite experiences at the school in Linda’s first year was with a Prom Plus Club student who I was standing with in the school hall. Someone had said something funny and Linda began to laugh. Anyone who knew her knows that her laughter rose up and carried for miles. This student turned to me and said, “Isn’t it great to hear laughter in the halls again?” 

This is what Linda did for her students: she made them feel safe and happy. They weren’t afraid to say silly things, to tell her a joke or to go to her for help. 

When my kids were at CV, I was a PTSA member and VP of Prom Plus. When Linda was principal I was a reporter and a mom whose last child was going through CV… so I was at the school a lot. I want to share two experiences I had with Linda that I think best defines our relationship and her personality. 

One day we were standing in front of the stage in the quad on campus getting ready to hear a presentation from some students. I received a text from my older daughter who was in college in Pennsylvania. I had told Linda earlier that my daughter had adopted a dog while in college thinking it would relieve her stress. I looked at the text and reacted with an “ugh.” Linda asked if something was wrong. I told her that my daughter’s dog had eaten her sofa. Linda thought I was exaggerating until I showed her pictures of what was left of the sofa. This tickled Linda to no end. She began to laugh; at one point she had to hold my shoulder to steady herself. This made me laugh and people looked over wondering what the heck was wrong with these two laughing fools … we just continued to have deep belly laughs. 

Since that day Linda and I could not keep a straight face when she would ask how my daughter and her dog were getting along. When I told her I had to have him shipped to me from Pennsylvania there was another roar of laughter. 

Then another time my younger daughter, the same one who had sat under the press table at district headquarters, felt that a teacher had been unfair to her. I went to the teacher, got nowhere, then went to Linda who arranged a meeting with the teacher, my daughter and me. She monitored the meeting, which was not at all pleasant. Throughout it all, Linda was supportive of our point of view. She kept everyone calm and resolved the issue. My daughter later said she was just glad her principal had her back. 

And that’s the legacy that Linda leaves … she always had the backs of all of the students she served. She was a positive light in the darkness … and a friend. 

For our weather: It goes from warm to hot. Today will see a high in the upper 80s with temperatures continuing to rise through Tuesday with highs in the low to mid 90s.