Schuckman: Conversations about golf, dogs and life create true heart-felt friendship

QUINCY — A casual question on a walk along one of the tree-lined fairways at Westview Golf Course sparked a conversation that had a continual flow no matter where it ended or when it happened to be picked up again.

I can’t wait to start that conversation again someday.

Six years ago, when Alex McCulla was a freshman on the Quincy Notre Dame boys golf team, I was on the course covering the Quincy Invitational when I tracked down the lead groups and went searching for score updates. I rolled up on a parent wearing QND colors and politely asked if she knew any of the scores.

Linda Schmidt McCulla wasn’t sure, but she guessed her son was holding steady since he had just parred back-to-back holes.

I thanked her and continued my chase of scores and stories. Later in the round, I ran into her again and we talked briefly, which is where our neverending conversation truly began.

Over the course of the next four years, I followed her son’s career through summer tournaments, the fall high school seasons and all the way to the U.S. Amateur. Now a sophomore at Illinois State University, Alex McCulla continues to make birdies and create stories Quincy’s golf community wants to read about.

From here forward, he’ll do so with an angel watching over him instead of his mom in the gallery.

Linda Schmidt McCulla passed away February 18 after a battle with cancer. She was just 52 years old, leaving behind her husband, Mike, and two children, Alaina and Alex, and a large extended family and countless friends.

I’m blessed I was able to call her such.

For the most part, our conversations took place on the golf course, but as time evolved, golf was hardly ever the topic at hand. We discussed our dogs, her daughter’s ongoing education at the University of Missouri and a myriad of things that had nothing to do with tees and greens.

We joked about one of Alex’s less-than-flattering mugshots that was used in the newspaper and decided he needed an updated one, which we took care of in short order. We always asked about each other’s families and discussed community events.

Golf might have been the tie that originally bound us, but it was her sincerity, genuine interest in all aspects of life and good-hearted nature that made our conversations so entertaining.

Her pride and love for her family was always on display, too. As much as she enjoyed watching Alex play golf and succeed on every level, Linda was more mindful of the work he was doing in the classroom and beyond. The same held true for Alaina, who impressed her mother with her diligence, work ethic and smarts when it came to building a life for herself in Columbia, Mo.

As I sit here writing this, I remember every kind word she said, every smile she flashed when she said hello and every time she went out of her way to comment on an article I had written, often ones not involving either her son or the QND golf team.

I wish I had the chance to have a conversation with her today, about her son’s game, her husband’s passion for Mizzou, her dogs or anything at all.

I know we will have that conversation again someday, and I guarantee we will pick it up right where we left off and we both will smile knowing friendship never dies.