Lina Poorten

Lina Poorten was born Carmelina Profeta, in March 1951 in Catania, Italy to her parents Salvatore and Maria Profeta. She was the second child of Sal and Mary (as they were later known in Queens and Jersey), and her older brother Giuseppe (now Joe) was the subject of her admiration and affectionate irritation all her life. When Lina was about 5, the family left Italy for a new life in the New World, first for several years in Medellin, Colombia. Lina came from Colombia to the US with her family in 1963 and, like so many immigrants before and since, immediately improved it. School was Catholic and all girls, at St. Nicholas in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. She was a gifted student and, in taking on English as a third language, came to love it as only a convert can, with fervency and curiosity and joy; she found in its contradictions and absurdities fodder for her piercing humor. Sal and Mary both worked their way up the American Dream-post; they bought a house in Richmond Hill and gifts for their children to put in it. Joe got a pool table; Lina got a piano, which she kept all her life. A short stint at NYU, a brief marriage, and Lina was off and running into the 1970s. Which consisted of, inter alia, getting a job at AT&T in Manhattan, owning a boat named Renegade, and going to Iran on a work assignment, where she got to know Hank Poorten. They were married from 1978 to 1990, and had two sons, Billy and Jimmy, both of whom Lina adored and treated like princes from God. Lina and Hank worked together, even if not together, to give them a happy childhood and see them off to their successes as adults. In the mid-90s Lina found faith, and, a few years later, she found love. Tom Betlow and Lina were married from 2003 until death pulled them apart a few days ago. Tom treated Lina like she was a princess from God, which she was. Lina and Tom lived together and supported each other in every way, including in Lina’s earning undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Central Florida. Lina loved Tom’s daughter Amanda immensely. For years, Lina looked after her octogenarian, and then nonagenarian, mother Mary, who lived nearby and became increasingly dependent on her, the roles reversed and tables turned. When Billy and his wife Christine - who Lina loved fiercely - had Valerie, Lina became Nonna, and Nonna fell completely in love with her baby granddaughter. Lina’s golden years, which were supposed to be spent spoiling Valerie, beaming with pride at Jimmy’s accomplishments, and gallivanting the globe with Tom, were cut short by a wretched battle with pancreatic cancer. She fought bravely against the disease, however, and because of that was able to be with her family for birthdays (including Valerie’s third birthday, for which she supplied a fabulous cake) and other important milestones before being taken away. If you knew Lina, you liked her, and probably loved her; if not, there is something wrong with you. She made the world better through her sweetness, generosity, gentle spirit, intelligence, and humor. She showed those around her what it was to love. She will be painfully missed by her family (including but not limited to Joe, Tom, Billy, Christine, Jimmy, Amanda, and Valerie) and friends (who are countless and know who they are) for as long as they all live. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to ST. JUDE in memory of Lina https://fundraising.stjude.org/site/TR/GiftFunds/GiftFunds?px=6640905&pg=personal&fr_id=39300

Lina Poorten

March 15, 1951 - May 20, 2020