Linda Sillitoe 1948 ~ 2010 OGDEN - Linda Sillitoe left this life on Wednesday, April 7, 2010, following a long illness.She was named Linda Dianne by her parents, Robert E. and Phyllis Liddle Buhler, and born on July 31, 1948 in Salt Lake City. Already an award-winning writer, she graduated with honors from South High School and from the University of Utah. In 1968 she married John R. Sillito (spelling difference intentional); they had three children and resided chiefly in Salt Lake City and later in Ogden. Linda published eight books ranging from journalism and history to fiction and poems. As a staff writer and news feature editor for the Deseret News and Utah Holiday magazine respectively, she received several professional awards, and her articles and series also appeared in The New York Times, the Philadelphia Inquirer, Dialogue, Utah Business, Sunstone, City Weekly and the Salt Lake City Observer. She edited book manuscripts for several regional presses, served as poetry editor for Dialogue and Exponent II and participated on several arts, health or community boards, including a statewide advocacy and support group in Southern Arizona, where she also resided for a time. She taught college writing and journalism at the University of Utah, Salt Lake Community College and Weber State University and was most recently public outreach coordinator for the Stewart Library at WSU, creating historical "little books" and photographic exhibits. She also followed a reporting assignment into a multi-faceted interest in native tribes and cultures, writing in several genres and co-producing an award-winning documentary. Linda was devoted to a large family in addition to dear and diverse friends. She is survived by her husband; her children, Melissa (Portland, OR); Rob (Amy, Naperville, IL); and Cynthia (South Ogden); grandchildren Grace and Zachary; by her siblings, Douglas (Jaydene), Taylorsville; David (Lori), Salt Lake City; Kathy Ballard (Brian), West Valley City; Janean Justham (Paul), Salt Lake City; Stephen (Maria), West Valley City; and Annette Andrus (Wayne), Rosamond, CA; three brothers-in-law, Kevin (Karoll), West Valley City; Jeffry, Salt Lake City; and Douglass Taber, Newark, DE; and a wealth of nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, a sister Susan Taber, a niece and a nephew, her in-laws and several cherished friends. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Association of America, Inc., P. O. Box 220398, Charlotte, NC, 28222. At Linda's request, a private service was held for family. A memorial celebration will be held at a later date. Funeral Directors, Lindquist's Ogden Mortuary. Send condolences to the family at: www.lindquistmortuary.com
Published in Deseret News on Sunday, April 11, 2010