Linda Ace Hoskinson, a leader in the field of nonprofit development, passed away peacefully on February 10, 2025.
A resident of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, she will be remembered by many for her thoughtful wisdom, kindness, strength, and integrity.
Lin was born on July 23, 1942 to Walter Elmer Schlecht and Ethel Winnifred (Simpson) Schlecht in Tecumseh, Michigan.
She graduated from Ann Arbor Senior High School in 1960 and earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Western Michigan University in 1966.
She married Ronald Elwood Ace shortly after college and welcomed a daughter, Kristen, a few years later. When Ron’s military service brought the family to Durham, New Hampshire, Lin began volunteering with the local public television station, sparking a decades-long career in raising support for the causes she valued most. Her talents were quickly recognized, and she joined the station’s development staff in 1977. Four years later, Lin and Kristen moved to the Washington, D.C. area, where Lin joined the national office of PBS and then the development team at Hood College in Frederick, Maryland.
In 1986, an opportunity with the Chambersburg Hospital convinced her to move once more. At the hospital and its parent organization, Summit Health, Lin served as vice president for development, leading the fundraising efforts that established the Norland Avenue campus and the expansion of the hospital’s main facility. She was an active member of the Chambersburg Rotary Club, joining in 1990 and becoming its first female president in 1994. It was through the Rotary that she met Richard Hoskinson, a local attorney; they married in 1993 and enjoyed 26 years together.
Lin’s wisdom and expertise were widely lauded. She was pleased to serve on the boards of the South Central Pennsylvania Estate Planning Council (president), the Presbyterian Church of the Falling Spring (president), the Cumberland Valley School of Music (president), and Menno Haven, where she helped guide a $20 million capital campaign to completion – enabling the creation of a new rehabilitation center, a resident life center, two memory care homes, and other expanded facilities.
She held leadership positions with the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy and was a member of the Board of Examiners for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, established by the U.S. Congress as the nation’s highest presidential honor for performance excellence in business, health care, education, and beyond.
Lin’s lifelong appetite for learning fueled her interests in photography, travel, music, art, theater, languages, economics, and more. She and Richard relished exploring the world with their family and dear friends, and she always had her next destination in mind. Her highest priority was her daughter, Kristen, and Kristen’s family, for whom Lin would have – and sometimes did – go to the ends of the earth.
Lin was preceded in death by her parents, Walter E. and Ethel W. Schlecht; her husband, Richard K. Hoskinson; and her former husband, Ronald E. Ace.
She is survived by her daughter, Kristen A. Burns, whom she loved deeply and who brought her great joy and pride; her son-in-law, Brenton W. Burns, whom she embraced warmly as her own; and her three grandchildren, Katharine, Evan, and Lila, who charmed her from the beginning. Kristen, Brent, and their family adored Lin equally in return.
They are forever grateful to the staff at Menno Haven and at Grane Hospice for their care and support.
A celebration of Lin’s life will be held at a later date.
Arrangements are entrusted to Sellers Funeral Home.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be sent to the Menno Haven Benevolent Fund, the Cumberland Valley School of Music, the Totem Pole Playhouse, or a charity of your choice.
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