3 minute read
Linda Gravenstein Awarded Joan Bishop Lifetime Achievement Award Posthumously
The Joan Bishop Lifetime Achievement Award is given by the Oley Foundation to a person who has dedicated their time, talent and passion to advancing the field of home nutrition support therapy across the decades. This is the only award decided by the Oley Board of Trustees and is given to a person who has gone above and beyond in their years of selfless dedication to working towards advancing the mission of the Oley Foundation. This award is named in honor of Joan Bishop, Oley Foundation Executive Director Emeritus, for her nearly forty years of service to Oley. To many, she has been “the help along the way.” In 2024, it was given to Linda Gravenstein.
Linda Gravenstein served as an Oley Regional Coordinator (the precursor to the Oley Ambassador program) for many years. As a Regional Coordinator, she reached out and offered support to patients who were new to tube feeding and IV nutrition therapy. She later worked at Coram and Nutrishare as a patient advocate. Linda helped people navigate the system, gave tips on how to travel, and connected people to various resources. She was known for being a good listener.
We are sorry to share that Linda passed away unexpectedly on December 31, 2023. She was nominated for this award before her untimely passing. We were fortunate that her husband, Ray, could attend the conference and accept the award on Linda’s behalf. Linda attended many Oley conferences with Ray and their daughter, Megan; Linda was there as often as she was able to be. She also frequently attended the Digestive Disease National Coalition (DDNC) Spring Public Policy Forum, where she brought the voice of home nutrition support consumers and caregivers to elected officials on Capitol Hill.
In 2016, Linda was given ASPEN’s Lyn Howard Nutrition Support Consumer Advocacy Award, named in honor of Oley Foundation’s cofounder, Lyn Howard. In receiving the award, Linda said, “I would like to thank Dr. Lyn Howard and the Oley Foundation for giving us and so many a purposeful life. I would also like to thank my daughter Megan for being my light and her fierce independence that allows me to share with others what we have learned in our journey.”
As noted in a nomination, “Linda will be remembered as a national advocate as well as a strong advocate to her most important consumer, her own daughter Megan. Her husband, Ray, was always by her side. They made a great dynamic duo.”
