Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
NORTH MANCHESTER - The town of North Manchester turned out Sunday to say a final goodbye to long-time police officer and four-year police chief Linda Learned. More than 200 people attended Learned's funeral, leaving standing room only in the chapel of DeLaughter-McKee Mortuary, North Manchester.
Learned died at 8:22 a.m. Thursday at Wabash County Hospital after suffering what her family believes to be a massive heart attack. The Wabash County coroner was not available for comment.
On Tuesday, just two days before her death, Learned passed out at work and was admitted to the hospital for observation. She was released Wednesday morning, after no abnormalities were detected and doctors deemed her healthy.
Whether the fainting episode and death are related is undetermined.
Learned dedicated her time on the Manchester Police Department to helping women and children. "Through her work, she was very much involved in domestic and child abuse cases and prevention," Officer Scott Fairchild said. She also worked many sex abuse cases early on in her career as a detective.
In addition, Learned worked with Victims Assistance, National Night Out and Take Back the Night.
Officers and town officials say Learned was "an officer with integrity, dedication and drive," whose dry sense of humor will be missed. "People in town only saw her gruff exterior, " Fairchild said. "Inside she was very kind."
"She always kept a sense of humor about things," town manager Dan Hannaford added. "Even when things were rough, she'd try to keep it light."
Hannaford also noted Learned's dedication to law enforcement and her desire to serve the public.
"She's going to be missed by a lot of people in this town," Fairchild said. "She was a hell of a woman."
