A dedicated friend, beloved for her ‘spicy sense of humor,’ her love for travel and especially her love for Judaism and the Jewish people, Linda March, 58, was an attorney specializing in real estate law who earned her JD from Yeshiva University’s Cardozo School of Law. She had served as Administrative Law Judge at the NYC Environmental Control Board (now known as OATH), the New York city agency that adjudicates summonses that are issued by these agencies.

After contracting the coronavirus last year in New York City, March suffered from the so-called “long COVID” symptoms, and recently left the city for the warm weather and sunny beaches of Surfside, Fla. hoping that the move would be healing both physically and spiritually.

She rented the fully furnished Penthouse 4 on the Champlain’s South Tower as a new home and office. The apartment was ripped apart when the Champlain Tower collapsed. She was identified on July 22 as a victim of the tragedy.

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Renee Manger and March were part of a group of friends who lived in Manhattan during the early aughts.

“We would get together for Shabbat meals at Linda’s apartment on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, go out for dinner together, just talk as friends,” Manger says. “She was always so upbeat and fun, very bright and learned - both in her Jewish knowledge and in her professional life.”

Despite the passing of time, as Manger moved to Stamford and March began to split her time between New York and Florida, the two remained in touch.

After Manger’s twin brother passed away, as well as after the passing of March’s sister and parents, the two connected.

“We didn’t have a superficial friendship,” Manger says. “There was real depth there. When Linda called me, we’d get right into it.”

Linda had a strong Jewish education, attended Yeshiva University High School, and has remained deeply committed to Jewish study and causes. After her sister passed away from cancer, March began supporting cancer research.

“She’s been a great supporter of Israel and the Jewish people,” says Selwyn Singer, another friend from ‘the group’ and also a transplant to South Florida.

In fact, March and Singer had plans to attend a Torah study class in Aventura a week after the fateful collapse of the Champlain Tower.

“Linda was truly an aishet chayil,” Singer says, using the Hebrew term for a woman of valor, “and an amazing friend.”