In Memoriam: Neil George Vander Linden
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Long-time TAPPI member Neil George Vander Linden was born and grew up in Appleton, Wis., USA. He attended Sacred Heart Catholic School and Appleton High School. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin and received a PhD in paper chemistry from Lawrence University. He studied on a Fulbright scholarship at the Institute of Technology in Monterrey, Mexico, and served in the Peace Corps in Bolivia for three years where he taught English, Inorganic Chemistr,y and Electro-Chemistry at the Universidad Popular Tupaj Katari and the Universidad de San Andrea in La Paz.
Vander Linden was technical manager for Mead Westvaco in Charleston for 30 years, retiring in 2003. He was president of the Georgia Tech Pulp and Paper Foundation, and was selected as a TAPPI Fellow in 1992, the association's highest honor for those who have served an entire career in the industry as Vander Linden had. He would continue to serve with the association, even after retirement.
Vander Linden continued to serve on the TAPPI Board of Directors and, then becoming involved in his community, was a member of the Anderson District Volunteers in Missions.He had an active personal life with hobbies outside of the paper industry. He was a poet, a photographer, and loved to travel. In addition, he was an avid Green Bay Packer fan and a proud owner of the a "piece of the turf" from historic Lambeau field where the football team plays home games in Wisconsin.
