Linda Ruth McMahon, a former professor at Marymount University in Arlington and longtime member of the board of diocesan Catholic Charities, died Dec. 27 in Grand Rapids, Mich. She was 80.
Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Feb. 5, 1942, McMahon joined the faculty of Marymount in 1965, serving as chief student affairs officer and chair of the Department of History and Politics. She served on the Liberal Arts Task Force for four years and supervised the school’s transition from all-female to co-ed and led during a time of expansion and growth in enrollment from 500 to more than 3,500 students.
As Dean of Student Affairs, she helped countless young people and championed the value of a Catholic education. “This has been my joy,” McMahon said of her Marymount career upon retirement. “It has been, truly, a blessing for me. The most meaningful part … has been working with students.”
She was a pioneer in promoting the importance of sports programs at colleges and universities and oversaw Marymount athletics from 1972 to 2003, when the Marymount athletic department was accepted to membership in the NCAA and the number of teams was expanded from four to 12. She was inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame at Marymount University Hall of Friends in 2009.
She retired from the full-time faculty in 2012 and was honored with the Sister Majella Berg Service Medal, the highest honor for service bestowed by the institution. She continued to support the history and political science programs at Marymount as professor emerita.
She was passionate about education and equally passionate about living out her Catholic faith. She marched in the Washington March for Life for many decades and supported pro-life issues and candidates. While she never married or had children, she was a loving sister, an engaged and undaunting caregiver for her mother, and a surrogate mother, benefactor and friend to her 10 nephews.
McMahon was committed to helping the less fortunate in Northern Virginia and was the longest-serving board member of diocesan Catholic Charities, serving from 1991 to 2021 and as chair 2003-11. She was also on the board of directors of the Arlington Catholic Herald newspaper 1990-2000.
“We are greatly saddened to learn of the death of Dr. McMahon. She was a wonderful person and a great supporter of Catholic Charities,” said Stephen Carattini, president and CEO of diocesan Catholic Charities. “Linda served on our board of directors for nearly 30 years, eight as chairwoman. Linda was instrumental in guiding the extraordinary growth of the agency. Her expertise in social work and her deep faith helped Catholic Charities to share the love and compassion of Jesus Christ with people in need throughout our diocese. We pray for the repose of her soul, and for God’s peace and consolation to come upon her family and loved ones.”
Rick Kaplar served with McMahon on the Catholic Charities board for many years. “Linda took Catholic Charities to a new level of professionalism and helped set the stage for what the organization has become today,” said Kaplar, president and CEO of the Media Institute in Vienna. He joined the Catholic Charities board in 1999 and was chairman from 2011 to 2021.
“Linda was highly regarded for her wisdom and good instincts, and was known for her meticulous nature and gentle manner,” he added. “She never sought the spotlight for herself, but cared only about what was best for Catholic Charities. Her dedication to the mission was a reflection of her deep and abiding faith. Linda’s legacy will live on in the good works Catholic Charities continues to perform. We are all indebted to her.”
McMahon earned her undergraduate degree from Marymount College in Tarrytown, N.Y., and her master’s and teaching credential at Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio. She earned a doctorate at George Washington University in Washington.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered Jan. 13 at 11 a.m. at St. Mary Catholic Church in Hudson, Ohio, with Father Jack Peterson and Father Larry Jurcak presiding. Burial will follow at St. Mary’s Cemetery, Hudson, Ohio.
There will be a memorial Mass Jan. 27 at noon in the Sacred Heart of Mary Chapel at Marymount University, 2807 N. Glebe Rd., Arlington.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association or to a Marymount scholarship in her name (www.alumni.marymount.edu/Donate-Now; select the Dr. Linda R. McMahon Scholarship Fund from the dropdown menu).
