Fitting tributes to a woman for whom the care of animals came second only to her family. As a schoolgirl, her studies slid while she became a one-woman hospital for the injured squirrels, chipmunks and birds of Scarsdale, NY. She didn't change. Last year, Linda gave 15,000 ($25,000) to save 127 puppies from being sold for laboratory testing after the firm which bred them closed down.
But there was more to Linda than the nature lover who loved to ride horses and hunt butterflies. There was Linda Eastman, the daughter of two Russian immigrants who met at Ellis Island. There was Linda Eastman the star photographer, who got her first lucky break snapping the Rolling Stones. And in later life came Lady Linda McCartney -- the successful businesswoman who flooded the supermarkets of Europe with much-appreciated frozen veggieburgers.
All who knew the pair say the attraction was simple: Paul and Linda were absolutely besotted with each other. And they were known as rock music's most successful couple. Bringing up four children, one from Linda's previous marriage, would put a strain on the saintliest of parents -- let alone multimillionaire musicians who could never escape the world's scrutiny. Yet as they approached their thirtieth anniversary, Paul and Linda declared themselves more in love than ever -- making it even more of a tragedy that she did not live to see it. Said Beatles producer Sir George Martin: "Paul has to bear the grief of not only losing his love and the linchpin of his family, but also the best friend he ever had."