Linda Lee Harnisch

Linda Lee Harnisch, 64, died on Wednesday, April 12 after a battle with cancer. She was a loving daughter, sister, wife and mother who left us much too early. She is survived by her husband of 41 years, Glenn W. Garrison of Englewood, and two children, a daughter, Laura K. Garrison of Washington, DC and a son, Matthew W. Garrison of Yadkinville, NC. Linda was born November 20, 1958 in Huntington, New York, the third of seven children to Mercedes and Edward Harnisch. She graduated cum laude from New York University in June of 1980, where she met her beloved husband on the first day of their freshman year. She completed a double major in Metropolitan Studies and Political Science and a double minor in History and Spanish at NYU’s Washington Square University College. Linda and Glenn moved to Park Slope, Brooklyn and married on September 27, 1981 in Saint Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Church. While living in Brooklyn, Linda graduated from Fordham University School of Law in 1985. She worked as an attorney at Equitable, later acquired by AXA, rising to the position of Vice President and Counsel. Linda and Glenn moved to New Milford, NJ in 1986 and to Englewood in 1989 where they raised their family. After retiring from AXA in 2002, she was a stay-at-home mom and volunteered in the Englewood Public Schools. Linda returned to the workforce as an AR Specialist at Eschen Prosthetic & Orthotic Labs, Inc. in New York City in 2005, a position she held until her death. She also served on the board of Flat Rock Brook Nature Association and was a Deacon at West Side Presbyterian Church in Englewood. Linda loved to garden, planting flowers, tomatoes, cucumbers and zucchini in her yard. She enjoyed shopping in secondhand stores, refinishing old furniture and sewing (especially her children’s Halloween costumes), a skill she learned from her grandmother. She was an early fan of Bruce Springsteen, seeing him in concert multiple times in venues large and small. Linda was a lifelong fan of the New York Rangers and enjoyed watching baseball games, following the career of her brother Peter from the Baltimore Orioles to the Cincinnati Reds. She was a team mom, shepherding her children and their teammates to baseball and softball games, swim meets and football practice. She was a self-proclaimed news junkie and passed that passion to her daughter Laura, who works as an Associate Producer with CBS News in Washington, DC. Her son Matthew followed in his mother’s footsteps, graduating from New York University in 2018. He lived in Brooklyn during his time at NYU, the borough she loved to once call home. Linda is preceded in death by her brother James and her father, Edward. She is also survived by her mother Mercedes, of East Northport, NY, sister Susan Beck of Falmouth, MA and brothers Paul of Brentwood, NY, Peter of Colts Neck, NJ, Thomas of New City, NY and Edward of Northport, NY, as well as multiple nieces and nephews. In lieu of flowers, her family asks for donations to the Planned Parenthood Action Fund https://www.plannedparenthoodaction.org/. Donations can also be directed to the Bergen County Animal Shelter & Adoption Center https://www.co.bergen.nj.us/animal-shelter-adoption-center or the Animal Care Centers of NYC https://secure2.convio.net/accn/site/Donation2;jsessionid=00000000.app20118b?idb=1341943105&df_id=2700&mfc_pref=T&2700.donation=form1&NONCE_TOKEN=CEFDDFCDA7A6DE6A8A6E75C7B01BFEDA&2700_donation=form1, where she and her family adopted their beloved pets. Visitation at Barrett Leber Funeral Home, 148 Dean Dr., Tenafly on Monday, April 17, 2023 from 6 PM - 9 PM. Funeral Service, Tuesday, April 18, 2023 at 10 AM at the funeral home. Burial to follow at Brookside Cemetery, Englewood, NJ.

Linda Lee Harnisch

April 12, 2023