Many friends and associates are mourning the passing of long time Los Alamitos resident Francis Columbus Van der Linden, a decorated World War ll veteran and St. Hedwig Catholic Church parishioner. He died on April 19, according to his family.
Francis was born of immigrant parents in Oakland, CA in 1927. His parents came to the us from the Netherlands. He was the seventh of nine children.
At Mt. Carmel High School in Los Angeles, he played Varsity basketball, did cartoon artwork for the school newspaper and was appointed editor of the high school yearbook.
He enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1946 and worked as a draftsman and topographer. He was stationed at Ft. Worth AFB, Davis-Monthan AFB in Arizona; and Keesler AFB, Mississippi.
In 1947, he was sent to Greenland and Crystal ll Base, Baffin Island with the 937th Aviation Engineers detachment.
There, Van der Linden helped design and draft new runways. He was then stationed at Mac Dill Air Force Base, in Tampa, FL.
Van der Linden also worked on the initial project of Cape Canaveral AFB in 1948.
Van der Linden received an honorable discharge in 1949 at the rank of Sergeant, and he received the American Campaign Medal, Good Conduct Medal, World War ll Victory Medal, and Marksman Medal.
He spent the major part of his life in Southern California. He studied Education at Pepperdine University and received a Masters’ degree in Education Administration from USC.
Afterward, Van der Linden enjoyed a long and productive career as a teacher and administrator for Los Angeles Unified School District.
In June of 1956, he married Mary Anne Reynolds. They had six children, Jan Gerard, Brian, Hugh, Matthew, Anne Marie, and Joseph.
Francis, his wife Mary Anne and their children moved to Los Alamitos in 1963 where they raised their family.
As an educator, he was instrumental in helping develop programs at the St. Hedwig School. He also served his church, St. Hedwig, as President of the Parish Council.
When he retired, he tutored often at St. Hedwig school. Francis also enjoyed fishing with his brothers, painting, gardening and writing a family genealogy book as well as a memoir book memorializing the pursuits of the six van der Linden brothers in World War ll.
He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Mary Anne, 6 children, 16 grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren. A private burial service was held on Saturday, April 25th. A memorial mass will be held at a future date.