1950 – 2013

CONCORD, Mass. — Linda Ann Gupta of Concord, Mass., passed away on May 3, at the age of 63. She had suffered a heart attack and died peacefully in the comfort of her home.

She was born March 31, 1950, in Lewiston to her father, Irvin Ward, and her mother, Violet Ward. She grew up in Lewiston with her parents, younger sister, Sharon, older brother, Irvin, and younger brother, Kenneth, graduating from high school in Lewiston and later attending the University of Maine at Orono.

It was there that she met her husband, Dev Gupta, and they married April 24, 1976, at United Baptist Church in Lewiston. They were blessed with three boys, Divi, the eldest, Jai, the middle child, and Navin, the youngest. They later lived in many places around the country, including Methuen, Mass., Indianapolis, Ind., Plaistow, N.H., and Readington, N.J., settling in Concord, Mass., in 1998.

Linda held a BS degree in education and childhood development and an MS degree in education from the University of Maine and Seton Hall University, respectively. She later became an active investor and philanthropist. She established an endowment at Seton Hall University, a chaired professorship at the University of Massachusetts Amherst with her husband, Dev, and contributed to national organizations that support policemen and firefighters, as well as to Smile Train, Habitat for Humanity and the Carter Center.

In 2006, she received a Meritorious Service Medal of Distinction from the National Republican Congressional Committee, adding to several Business Woman of the Year recognitions from the state of Massachusetts. She formerly served as executive vice president and founding investor of a startup company, Newlans, at which her husband, Dev, and sons, Divi and Jai, also worked. She was instrumental in assisting her son, Jai, with his educational and entrepreneurial endeavors.

Her additional professional acknowledgments include listing within Cambridge Who’s Who of Top 101 Industry Experts in Investment and Philanthropy and membership in the Kappa Delta Phi national honors fraternity that encourages social interaction and excellence in higher education.

She was an avid reader and lifelong learner, particularly enjoying books illuminating social issues of importance to her, as well as books on the subjects of finance, leadership, heroism and women’s empowerment. She enjoyed good movies, simple cups of tea, shopping at her favorite stores and the New England outdoors.

She was devoted to her family and was especially fond of spending time with them, enjoying breakfast at a local diner in the morning, lunch, tea and walks at work in the afternoons and dinner, television and family events in the evenings. She was intensely spiritual, living by the golden rule and always seeking to exhibit faith, hope and charity in all that she did.

To share a remembrance in Linda’s guest book, visit www.deefuneralhome.com.