Linda Peterson Colby '59

Linda Colby died peacefully at home on September 25, 2025, at the age of 84.
Linda was born in Concord, MA on December 17, 1940, to Mary (Seale) and Laurence Petersen.

She grew up in Concord, before graduating from Fryeburg Academy in Fryeburg, ME. Linda went on
to Colby Junior College, graduating in 1961, during which time her parents moved to New London
and started The Country Press. Linda then attended the Univ of NH, where she met her future
husband, Edward Laurence (Larry) Colby, Jr of West Boxford, MA. Linda and Larry were married in
1962.Larry completed his law degree at Boston University in 1965 and then entered the US Army as a
Lieutenant in the US Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps. Linda, Larry and daughter, Mary, began
Army life together at Fort Benning, GA. Linda spent the next 27 years as a proud Army wife, making
homes for the family in over 15 locations, including Washington, DC, Hawaii and Germany. While
stationed in Hawaii, Linda was involved in the early development of the first organization to provide
support to military families, now known as the Military Family Advisory Network, attending and
presenting at the first two national conferences in Washington, DC, as the president of the Western
Region. As an officer’s wife, Linda was expected to support her husband’s career with community
activities which included involvement in the Officers’ Wives Clubs at all Larry’s stations, as well as
being a hostess to visiting senior officers, which she loved doing.

Following Larry’s retirement, they moved to Savannah, GA to be closer to their son, Edward (Ted) L
Colby III, and his wife Leah, and grandchildren, Lauren and Ethan, before moving to Hilltop Place in
New London, NH in 2014. Linda was very involved in the Hilltop community, where she served on the
Association Board and led the social committee which provided an outlet for her excellent
management, decorating and hostess skills, as well as leading the Hilltop book club.

Linda was preceded in death by her husband of 59 years, her son Ted, her brother Curtis Petersen,
and her parents Larry and Mary Petersen. She is survived by her daughter, Mary, and daughter-in-
law, Becky Conzett, of Sebastopol, CA; her sister, Fiona Petersen of Andover, NH; her nieces, Karen
and Gretchen Caldwell, of Lee and New Boston, NH; and her daughter-in-law, Leah Colby Miller, and
grandchildren, Lauren and Ethan Colby of Savannah, GA.

There will be a private memorial service and internment in West Boxford, MA.