Linda Bean, an entrepreneur, GOP activist and granddaughter of outdoor retailer LL Bean, has died

Linda L. Bean, a granddaughter of famed outdoor retailer L.L. Bean who became an entrepreneur, philanthropist and conservative activist, has died at age 82. Bean's business manager, Veronika Carlson, says she died Saturday. No cause was given. Bean’s grandfather, Leon Leonwood Bean, founded the company in 1912. Linda Bean served on the company’s board for nearly half a century. She also bought lobster dealerships, founded the Perfect Maine Lobster brand in 2007, and owned general stores, inns and vacation rentals on Maine’s central coast, where she lived in Port Clyde. Bean was also a big donor to Republican causes and twice ran unsuccessfully for Congress, in 1988 and 1992, as a social conservative.