Obituary of Vermont woman with opioid addiction inspires donations

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — A powerful obituary for a Vermont woman with opioid addiction has inspired more than 100 donations to a local recovery center from around the country and as far away as Denmark.

The family of 30-year-old Madelyn Ellen Linsenmeir posted an obituary for her after she died Oct. 7 that appeared in several newspapers and has been widely shared.

Her relatives wrote that she first tried OxyContin at a high school party, starting a relationship with opioids that dominated her life. For years, they wrote, they feared her addiction would claim her life. The obituary did not say how she died.

“To some, Maddie was just a junkie – when they saw her addiction they stopped seeing her. And what a loss for them. Because Maddie was hilarious, and warm, and fearless, and resilient,” they wrote of Linsenmeir, noting she was the mother of a toddler.

Drug addiction is not a choice or weakness, they wrote, and people struggling with it need and deserve empathy and support.

In lieu of flowers, the family asked friends and relatives to consider donating to Turning Point Center, where they said Linsenmeir “felt supported.”

By Wednesday, the center had received more than 100 donations, ranging from $5 to $1,000, said Larry De Carolis, executive director.

“We’ve been overwhelmed by the generosity,” he said. “Many of them have been from people who lost a loved one.”

Burlington Police Chief Brandon del Pozo lamented on Facebook that people were paying attention to her particular story and not the larger problem of the many who have died opioid-related deaths.