Linda Handal

We are deeply saddened by the loss of a dear friend and leader of the Bethlehem Association. Linda Handal was a founding member of the Association who with her family of five children attended the first convention of the Association in 1986. Soon after, she brought her family to work in support of the Association. She was Convention organizer and membership secretary for almost twenty years and, with the support of her husband Domingo and her children, she was a enthusiastic supporter and prominent fund raiser. Her sister Lily who is married to Domingo's late Brother Shafiq quickly joined in with their family and both extended families worked hard to grow the Bethlehem Association in New Jersey, the East Coast and abroad. The Handal families and relatives were always a large contingent at the annual conventions and volunteered their time and resources to make them successful. They contributed generously to the Association and the Scholarship fund which helped make the Association viable financially and brought much needed help to charitable institutions in their native town of Bethlehem.

Linda's warm and friendly manner attracted many Bethlehemites to join the Association. She was gracious but firm, a prudent and strategic negotiator with all the hotels and entertainers we had to deal with, always getting a favorable deal. This made every convention she organized a great reunion and a financial success in helping Bethlehem.
We are all privileged to have known and worked with Linda. We shall hold pleasant and worthy memories of our time together. We extend our warm prayers for her soul and deep sympathy to all her family and friends. May she rest in Peace in Heaven with the angels and the promise of resurrection.