Erma Jean Linder “Jean”, 74, of Teaneck, New Jersey, passed away on August 19, 2018, in Hackensack, NJ.

A Memorial Service will be held at 578 Maple Avenue in Teaneck, New Jersey on Saturday, September 8, 2018, from 2:00pm - 3:30pm hosted by her children.

Jean was born in Boynton Beach, Florida to Aris Linder and Millie Gaines on September 11, 1943. After graduating from high school in 1960, she spent one semester at Boynton Beach Community College where she was the first African-American student to enroll. She went on to earn a degree in Home Economics from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University. She was a clothing and upholstery designer and an accomplished seamstress. She enjoyed jewelry-making, free-hand drawing, home improvements and bird-watching with her cats. With her spiritual nature, she spent much of her summer time designing outdoor spaces aligned with the concepts of Feng Shui and the Ba-gua. Always very intelligent, she kept her mind sharp with hours of crossword puzzles, cryptograms and technology - she once asked her daughter if she should use HTML and JavaScript to create a website to sell her jewelry.

Jean is survived by her son, Zachary Bryan Armstrong of Mahanoy, PA, her daughter, Alisha Faye Armstrong of Jersey City, NJ, her daughter, April Yahila Armstrong of Teaneck, NJ, her former husband, Willie L. Armstrong of Clinton, MD, her brother Robert Linder Sr. of Seattle, WA, her former daughter-in-law, Sandra Armstrong, her grandson, Stephen Zachary Armstrong, her former daughter-in-law, Freda Armstrong, her grandson, Jonathan Linder Armstrong, her great-granddaughter, Claire Armstrong, her great-grandson, Warren Armstrong, her sisters-in-law (Cora Munford, Annie Esther Bell, Roberta Smith, Mary Maner and Martha Dixon), her nieces and nephews (Patricia Spears, Alisa Spears, Lunis Spears, Robert Willis, Randy Willis, Robert Linder Jr., Charlene Linder, Cynthia Linder, Debra Riojas, Cassandra Williams, Sebrena Barnes, Kevin Barnes, Iris Cruz Whidden, Deanna Williams, Tina Fields, Eric Armstrong, Aaron Rich, Vivian Rich, Norman McCrary, Adrian Knight, Wanda Young, Ramona Key, Darick Knight, Cedric Tucker, Sheena Spencer, Stacy Spencer, Joshua Maner, Caleb Maner, Jessica Maner, Johnathan Maner, James Maner, Kevin White, Demaria Stanton and Marcus Stanton) and many grand and great-grand nieces and nephews. She is preceded in death by her mother, Millie Miller, her father, Aris Linder, her sister, Maryanne Willis, her brother, Aaron Linder, her sisters-in-law (Annie Ruth Armstrong, Annie Mel Barnes and Annie Jewel Knight) and nephews and niece (Jeff Armstrong, Erik Barnes and Shonda Mitchell).

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the International Fund for Animal Welfare ( https://www.ifaw.org/united-states ). The family wishes to extend their gratitude to all the people who visited her in her last days and who kept her in their prayers.

“I saw snowflakes as I fell asleep" - a note Jean made in the margins of one of her books. We believe she felt the peace and calm of snowflakes as she closed her eyes for the last time.

Affiliations

American