Linda Lee Dillon, born April 13, 1949, went to be with her Lord on November 22, 2024. She was 75 years old.
Born in Fort Collins, Colorado to Philip and Virginia Roberts, Linda moved to California with her parents at the age of six. She was a lifelong resident of Atascadero, having met her future husband at Atascadero High School. Linda married Bob Dillon in 1970, and they spent 54 happy years together.
Linda had three careers: administrative assistant and stenographer; educator; and medical assistant. The first and third were traditional, and she loved them. The last was her favorite, as she had always wanted to work in the medical field, and had returned to Cuesta College to prepare for it. But the second was the great sacrifice of her life; homeschooling each of her three sons through high school. She pursued all three careers with characteristic diligence and excellence.
When her career as a home educator began in the early 1980s, she was a pioneer in a still-new and then-misunderstood movement. It must have taken a great deal of spunk to buck the system in those years. Few persisted through high school in those years, yet her children were among the first to complete high school at home. As a testament to her courage, endurance, and extensive research, all three of her children went on to achieve 4-year college degrees.
Transcending her professional and home life was a single unheralded theme: Linda delivered encouragement and reassurance to anyone in need of it, anytime, anywhere. Countless lives were touched—patients, friends, acquaintances, and even strangers. Their hearts warmed by words of encouragement, often biblical quotations, people of all faiths permitted her to rest her hand on them and intercede to her Lord Jesus Christ on their behalf.
Linda loved nature and could often be found at the beach or on her favorite hiking trails. She was a fine photographer, with a school yearbook and a voluminous portfolio of nature and family photographs to her credit.
She was an avid letter writer, as numerous fortunate recipients can attest. Linda could never send even a Christmas card without including a personal message, often covering all remaining sides of the card in her gently-sloped, precisely parallel, tightly-looped cursive handwriting.
She had many favorite Bible passages, including Psalm 91. Most were posted on her refrigerator door at some point, copied in longhand from her beloved Amplified Bible—three stayed longer than any others: “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11, NIV), “[Christ] is able to do superabundantly more than all that we dare ask or think (infinitely beyond our greatest prayers, hopes, or dreams) according to His power that is at work within us” (Ephesians 3:20, AMP). Perhaps the most personal comfort and power for her prayer ministry was found in the third: “I will not, I will not, I will not, in any degree, leave you helpless or forsake you, nor relax my hold on you, assuredly not! (Hebrews 13:5, AMP).
Linda is survived by her husband Bob; sister Roberta; and children, Christopher, Barnaby, and Josiah. Her graveside service will be held on Friday, December 20 at 12 PM, at Atascadero Cemetery District (Pine Mountain Cemetery), 1 Cemetery Rd. Atascadero, CA 93422. A celebration of life and potluck will follow at 1:00 PM at Atascadero Gospel Chapel, 8205 Curbaril Ave. Atascadero, CA 93422.
