Linda Mae Ruterbories

South Portland-Linda Mae Ruterbories passed away suddenly, and tragically, Saturday, July 30, 2022 at the young age of sixty. Born to young parents who were unable to care for a newborn daughter, she was given up for adoption to an orphanage in Burlington, Vermont. A few weeks later she was adopted by her parents, Stanley and Dorothy Cox, and was later joined by her sister Leesa. After attending Cape Elizabeth elementary and middle school, Linda graduated from South Portland High School in 1980, and later became a nurse at Orthopedic Associates (OA) in Portland. In 1998 she finished her master’s degree, giving her the title of Nurse Practitioner. She rose to be Director of OA’s Ambulatory Surgery Center, a management level position she held until 2016. While at OA, Linda helped expand the center and greatly improved patient outcomes. She quickly made OA’s surgery center a regional leader in delivering patient-centered care. Although she was patient driven, she was employee centered. She had her people’s backs, always, and genuinely loved everyone she worked with. In 2016, Linda moved to Houston, Texas, where she began chapter two of her professional career at Memorial Hermann Hospital. She was there for about a year before becoming Innov8 Surgical’s first CEO. While at Memorial Hermann and Innov8, she met so many incredible people, treating all of them as if they were her own family. Her time was short in Texas, but she formed a lot of amazing relationships which resulted in some hilarious stories. In 2020, Linda began chapter three of her professional career at Cape Integrative Health (CIH) in Cape Elizabeth. As the Director of Medical Operations, Linda quickly became a patient favorite. She was an ardent advocate for her primary care patients and an empathetic, compassionate coworker. Her time at CIH, although short, was impactful — the “Center of Cape” won’t be the same without her. Linda married her late husband Jim in 1993, quickly accepting his daughters Amber and Amanda as her own. In 1996, she gave birth to her son Jonathan, completing the Ruterbories family. Among all of the titles she had in her life, her favorite was “mom”; she was so incredibly proud of her son and she always told people about either his accomplishments or his incredible ability to lose things (which she always found for him!). Her second favorite title was “Glamma,” a name affectionately given to her by Amber’s daughters, Zoe and Stella, whom she loved. Linda’s most interesting moment came in 1992, when she got a cold call from her biological sister, Cindy. This one phone call changed her life forever and opened her eyes to an incredible family she never even knew existed. A sister Cindy, brothers Charlie and Billy, and another mother, Janet. She was so thankful for the time she got to spend with them. Linda was predeceased by Dorothy and Stanley, Janet, and Jim. She is survived by Jonathan, Amber, Cindy, Charlie, Billy, Leesa, Sue, their children and significant others and so many more friends that were her family. We love you Linda Mae. We promise to “live our lives, and live them full, not wasting a single day. We know you are always with us, every step of the way.” A Celebration of Linda’s life will be at her home, The Farm, 876 Highland Avenue, So. Portland, on Saturday, August 6th at 5pm to 7pm with a program beginning at 5:30pm. Everyone who loves Linda Mae is welcome to attend. There will be a private burial next week. Arrangements are under the direction of the Conroy-Tully Walker Funeral Home, 1024 Broadway, South Portland, ME. To view Linda’s memorial page, or to share an online condolence, please visit www.ConroyTullyWalker.com