Linda Grant De Pauw
In Loving Memory
Linda Grant De Pauw passed away peacefully at her Maryland home on November 20, 2025.
Born on January 19, 1940, in New York City to Phillip Grant and Ruth (Marks) Grant, Linda lived a life defined by curiosity, scholarship, resilience, generosity, and love.
She received her bachelor's degree in history education at Swarthmore College and graduated from Johns Hopkins University with a Ph.D. Linda became a pioneering historian, author, and educator. She was a Woodrow Wilson fellow in 1961. In 1964-65, Dr. Linda Grant De Pauw worked as Assistant Professor at the Department of History at George Mason University. She served as Professor of History at George Washington University from 1975-1999 and President of the Minerva Center, a nonprofit organization that she founded, supporting the study of women in war. Her groundbreaking scholarship helped bring the stories of women into the historical record and inspired generations of students and readers.
Among her many books were Battle Cries and Lullabies: Women in War from Prehistory to the Present, In Search of Molly Pitcher, and the award-winning young adult books Founding Mothers: Women of America in the Revolutionary Era and Seafaring Women. Her first book and doctoral thesis, The Eleventh Pillar: New York State and the Federal Constitution, received the Albert J. Beveridge Award of the American Historical Association in 1964.
Yet Linda's greatest devotion was to her family. During a difficult chapter of her life, she endured a long separation from her children, a loss that remained close to her heart. Her enduring love for them inspired her children's book Seeing a Unicorn, a story born from hope, longing, and a mother's belief that love can transcend distance and time. One of the great joys of her later years was reconnecting with her children and rebuilding those treasured bonds.
Known affectionately by many as "Magical Godmother," Linda delighted friends and family with her humor, wisdom, singing, cooking, Bible verses, sewing, drawing, storytelling, boundless generosity and joie de vivre. She had a gift for making people feel welcome and cared for, as she approached life with enthusiasm and wonder.
She was also devoted to the animals she loved throughout her life, especially her cherished cats, Shadow, Ashe, Sunshine, Moonbeam, Felicity & Liberty and her dogs, Cookie and Chiquita, who brought her comfort and companionship.
In her final years, Linda shared a particularly close bond with her daughter, Jolie Diane, whose loving care, companionship, and devotion brought great comfort and happiness. Their time together was a precious gift to them both.
Linda is survived by her children, Jolie Diane and Benjamin Grant, as well as extended family, friends, colleagues, former students, and readers whose lives she enriched through her scholarship, kindness, and friendship.
She will be remembered not only as a distinguished historian and author, but as a loving mother, loyal friend, devoted animal lover, and the unforgettable "Magical Godmother" whose warmth, wit, and generosity touched so many lives.
Linda's books may be found online: https://www.amazon.com/Books-Linda-Grant-De-Pauw/s?rh=n%3A283155%2Cp_27%3ALinda%2BGrant%2BDe%2BPauw
Seeing A Unicorn
https://www.amazon.com/Seeing-Unicorn-Linda-Grant-Pauw/dp/136538036X/ref=sr_1_19?s=books&sr=1-19
Slaying The Dragons
https://www.amazon.com/Slaying-Dragons-Linda-Grant-Depauw/dp/1304532194/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&sr=1-1