Who was Linda Bean? List of brands managed explored as activist and entrepreneur dies aged 82

Linda Bean, a businesswoman, philanthropist, and activist, died Saturday, March 23, at the age of 82. As per AP, Veronika Carlson, Bean's business manager, announced her passing in a written statement on Sunday.

“Linda was known for her amazing work ethic, entrepreneurial spirit as well as her pride and dedication to her home state of Maine and L.L.Bean, the company her grandfather founded. Our hearts go out to her family and friends,” it read.

Linda Bean, born on April 28, 1941, was an American businesswoman. She was the granddaughter of Leon Leonwood Bean, who was the founder of L.L. Bean. In 1988 and 1992, Linda Bean was a Republican Party candidate who campaigned for the US Congress. She was an heir to the L.L. Bean firm. She also founded other brands including Perfect Maine Lobster, Port Clyde General Store, and establishments like Linda Bean's Maine Kitchen & Topside Tavern.

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Linda Bean was famous for owning a lobster company

In 1912, Bean's grandfather, Leon Leonwood Bean, established the company L.L. Bean. It featured sturdy items like lifetime-guaranteed rubber-soled boots. Linda Bean was a member of the board for almost 50 years.

She further had a big influence on the lobster industry in Maine. She owned a lobster company and fishing wharves in multiple towns. On Maine's central coast, she controlled general stores, inns, and vacation accommodations, in addition to purchasing the lobster dealerships and launching the Perfect Maine Lobster brand in 2007.

Bean was also the owner of the well-known Port Clyde General Store. She was currently developing a new store. Until recently, her company generated more than nine million pounds of lobster a year.

She also owned a second company that rented out beachfront homes and cottages. Bean also had holdings in the forestry and hospitality sectors, in addition to the lobster industry. She possessed substantial lands in western Maine, including sugarbushes in Weld and Wyman that produced maple syrup.

Her own lobster roll and her grandfather's camp cuisine were served in the restaurants she owned. Her largest establishment in Maine was Linda Bean's Maine Kitchen & Topside Tavern.

It was once a tavern that was established in 1790 and is situated across from the L.L. Bean main store in Freeport, Maine. George Denney, a retired Freeport local, sold the original tavern location to Bean on September 27, 2010.

She further led the campaign to have the London-based organization Marine Stewardship Council certify Maine's lobster sector as sustainable in 2013. The certification was revoked in 2022 due to the rumors that it might be harming whales.

Throughout the years, Bean was involved in Maine politics. She also ran for Congress twice. She ran once in 1988 and again in 1992. In 1992, she won the Republican primary in Maine's First District.

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Linda Bean was also a philanthropist

Linda Bean held positions on the boards of many charitable institutions. These include the Maine Chapter of The Nature Conservancy, the Maine Historical Society, the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, the Portland Museum of Art, and the Brandywine Conservancy and Museum of Art in Chadds Ford.

Her charitable endeavors also included protecting the family's properties, promoting the life of early 20th-century illustrator and artist N.C. Wyeth, who was the father of the renowned painter Andrew Wyeth, and supporting LifeFlight of Maine medical helicopters and the Maine Botanical Gardens at Boothbay.

Additionally, in order to establish a library and programs in Port Clyde, Maine, she founded The N.C. Wyeth Research Foundation and Reading Libraries in 2019.