The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.

Meet Your Neighbor

by Deb Olson, The Quill

Meet your neighbor Teresa Link who lives 1 mile west of La Harpe. Teresa was born and raised in Plymouth until she was 11 and then moved to Blandinsville.

Teresa's father was the late Jack Hopping of Blandinsville. Her mother is Dianna Dillinger of Blandinsville who is retired from Alcoa. Teresa has 1 brother, Trent Hopping, who is a plumber at WIU and lives in Blandinsville and 1 sister, Tami Gittings Hayes, who is married to Mike Hayes and lives in Parkville, MO.

Teresa's maternal grandparents were Russell and Roberta Dillinger of Plymouth.

Her paternal grandparents were Ghlee and Abby Hopping also of Plymouth.

Teresa married Tom Link on June 25, 1983. Tom is the Chief Mechanical Officer of the Mechanical Division of the Burlington Junction Railway.

Their children are Heather and Cody Link of Blandinsville, Jennifer Link of Ottumwa, IA, Paula, Isaac and Erza Link of La Harpe and two grandsons Thomas and Julian also of La Harpe.

Teresa graduated from WIU in 1992 with a Bachelor of Arts in History and Political Science. She is currently self employed and the owner of Four Dirty Boys Soap.

She is also a stay home mom, homeschooling four boys.

Teresa is an activist and educator for parents right to chose medical interventions for their children, specifically, vaccinations.

Her favorite job outside the home was a temporary assignment working for the West Central Illinois Task Force and the Illinois State Police Investigations Division where she transcribed the reports of all officers during their various investigations. Teresa likes to run for pleasure. her running accomplishments include a 200 mile relay with 11 friends and running a half marathon with 25,000 other runners.

The Links recently obtained a family milk cow. They raise their own chickens and eggs and try to raise as much of their food as possible.

For special family vacations they try to camp out at least 3 times a year.