UP CLOSE AND Purr-sonal

Thoughtful... Caring ... Giving ...Helpful... Committed.

- Susan Cook Henry

These are just a few of the adjectives which come to mind when thinking about Linda Peterson of Karmacatz Devon Rex. Oh, and yes - she has a great sense of humor, too!

Linda is a retired coordinated services specialist for the Fairfax County (Virginia) Department of Neighborhood and Community Services, where she connected county residents to county- and community-based services and resources that promote self-sufficiency and enhance well-being. The opening adjectives give context to her many responsibilities with the department, which often involved emergency needs such as food, shelter, clothing, healthcare, employment, and financial assistance. Before her retirement from the department in 2018 after 36 years of service, she worked many difficult cases under challenging circumstances. Among her most vivid memories was helping to save a woman from losing her home just before Christmas one year by coordinating with multiple volunteer agencies, banks, and mortgage companies to avoid such an unimaginable and untimely loss. In addition, Linda worked closely with many school organizations each year to help make the holidays more festive for needy children and their families.

Growing up an "Army brat," Linda and her family moved fairly often in the U.S. and lived abroad as well, but her father (who retired as a lieutenant colonel) ultimately settled in Northern Virginia with a post at the Pentagon. While growing up, she and her two sisters always had cats, but it would be some time before her connection to pedigreed cats was established.