Thursday night, as every night before retiring, I check my e-mails and the online Journal of the San Juans for messages and late news. Helen and I had returned from a great night of trivia at the Ale House when our team, the Hellbox, took second place among 10 teams, after never getting one of the top three prizes in months. We were happy at our resurrection.

Then the hammer fell: News of the tragic loss of Superior Court Judge John Linde, 62, in Hawaii. My attorney and friend for some 30 years.

I could not sleep. I thought of our first meeting when the late Glenn Ranson, who had introduced him to me, suggesting that I might help out on the political strategy for Carla Higginson’s write-in candidacy for prosecuting attorney. I was struck by John’s straight-forward manner and quiet persuasion. In addition to agreeing to pro bono assistance, I decided then and there that if I ever needed legal assistance on this island, here was the man I would use.

I never regretted that decision, despite the fact that Carla lost by less than a dozen votes (she only gained three from Waldron). It was a moral victory in that Prosecutor Gene Knapp cut his salary back a grand on the pay issue. Then we had a close call when I agreed to help on my friend Tom Talman’s unsuccessful run for county commissioner from Orcas Island and later, as a sacrificial lamb, for the House of Representatives.

John Linde and Paul Whittier were men of character and dignity, never expecting or receiving any favoritism from The Journal when they presented their views on the political scene … only a fair hearing.

They were tough but fair. John Linde, particularly, was always a dignified, genial gentleman. A warm and wonderful husband to Carol and father to Brian and Kristen. He refereed sports. He served on several community boards and was a man of faith.

I saw a plaque for a Linde — the inventor Carl von Linde (1842-1934) — in Basel, Switzerland a few years ago. Possibly an ancestor. Whether or not he was related, John’s ancestors can be quite proud of what their descendant John Linde has been to this community and this life. We are fortunate to have had him as a member of our society. He always lent balance to the conflicts over which he presided.

Go with the F.L.O.W. (Ferry Lovers Of Washington)

— Contact Howard Schonberger at 378-5696 or hschonberger@sanjuanjournal.com