Linda Kay Blacketer

Ageless, timeless and beautiful, Linda passed away quietly in peace and comfort on July 14, 2021 with her husband holding her hand and tender face in his hands, and with life-long friends at her bedside. She had been under home hospice care following years of declining health due to complications of Lewy-Body dementia. We are immensely saddened over the departure of this brilliant and beautiful woman. Linda’s kind, generous, gracious and fun loving spirit blended a singular style with a fearless and courageous attitude, and a highly calibrated no-nonsense meter - qualities we were lucky to enjoy.

Born on Valentine’s Day in Harrodsburg, Kentucky to parents Loren “Jonah” Reid Blacketer, a barber, and Rachel (Ransdell) Blacketer, a bookkeeper, Linda spent her childhood in Kentucky and Florida. Following early training in nursing, she relocated to New York to earn a degree from Columbia University, then moved West for a career in Public Health.

Linda is AIR: soft spoken and precise; her voice gentle with an occasional Southern lilt, polite and charming. She possessed a quirky humor, was fun-loving and playful.

Linda could be guarded, enigmatic, yet utterly self-aware. She loved red wine, white blouses and blue cheese. Her parties and dinners were events, with the ‘tablescapes’ expertly appointed.

She is EARTH: never missing the Annual Flower Show, an arboretum or botanical garden. In the late 1990’s, Linda spearheaded the planting of over 500 street trees in Bayview. Her gardens were cornucopias of flowering excess. She and Dan found their Arcadia in the Yorkville Highlands, off-grid, and surrounded by an enveloping and generous community steeped in the love of nature and rural calm. Linda cultivated roses, daffodils, tomatoes and herbs.

She is WATER: Linda’s eyes were the color of a clear, shallow pool reflecting the sky at noon, or could be the deep blue of the ocean, drawing one in for an embrace.

She assembled collections of color, of glassware, vases, and surrounded herself and her friends with beauty. Linda valued the loyalty of deep and enduring friendships.

Linda is FIRE: Possessing a backbone akin to titanium, and a fierce intelligence,

Linda was adventuresome, hedonistic, and as a friend relates, ‘a powerhouse’. She was demanding, yet patient, with little time for small talk. She was disruptive, decades before the term was cool or monetized. Linda was a connector, a hub, a maven’s maven, spirited, bold, stubborn, rebellious and a bit radical.

Her work in the City and County of San Francisco district health centers included the Bayview, Mission and Tenderloin. With her dedication to families and young adults as case-manager, liaison to the community courts, and as Public Health Nurse at the Juvenile Hall, Linda provided decades of care and comfort to families in crisis. She often took a 2am phone call from a teen who had escaped the hall and required a rescue from a difficult situation in the dark night of the City. Without hesitation, she would drive across town in her orange VW Bug to retrieve and protect the distressed youth with a return to safety. Linda would arrive at work later that same morning, relating little or nothing to staff and seeking no recognition for these compassionate and empathic adventures.

Relentless in career and life, Linda discovered a dilapidated and neglected, 8000sf Victorian structure nearing condemnation, and although facing the daunting task of a complete restoration, she nevertheless moved forward boldly and creatively, embarking upon a thirty year labor of love and historic preservation of San Francisco Landmark 61, The Sylvester House, beginning in 1978. She also met her future husband, Dan, that same year, sparking a romance that has spanned forty-two years. They married in 1994. As a longtime Bayview resident, Linda opened the doors of her restored home to friends and neighbors, often hosting community leaders, writers, artists, musicians, and aspiring politicians in their campaigns. She never said no to feeding the neighborhood homeless on her front porch, but did say no to a few politicians seeking only a fundraising venue.

In recognition of her tireless dedication to preserving a vital piece of City history, and co-founding the Bayview Historical Society, San Francisco Beautiful awarded Linda the Robert Friese Award for Neighborhood Restoration in 2005.

Linda reveled during holidays, and had boxes of decorations for each. Her favorite season was Christmas, always with lots of red, greenery, ornamentation, and a tree with live candles. Friends and their children were invited to view the Sylvester House in full glory. Holidays for Linda presented an opportunity to be transported, entertaining friends and enhancing their happiness.

Linda is survived by her loving husband, Dan Dodt of San Francisco; her many honored and cherished friends; twin aunts Lavern (MI) and Lavonne(OH); uncles Paul Blacketer(KY) and Carl Blacketer(IN);cousin Joyce Anderson (George), (AZ); and numerous cousins.

Special thanks to: Marilyn Dickson, MaryJo Knueven and Becky Perelli for everlasting friendship and personal attention; Lesly Morazon for unwavering support; Trudy Than, a dedicated, selfless and serene caregiver; the Sutter AIM and Hospice teams; and to Dr. Mei-Lai Lucas.

We will gather during the Christmas Season for community celebrations in her honor.

Linda is an extraordinarily rare spirit whose beam of light simply shifts in frequency. She’ll continue to bounce around the universe in an altered form of stardust. She will always be with those who had the honor to bask in her light, and is now released to the music of the spheres. Private celebrations and scatterings are to the headwaters, in the byways and into the wind.

Donations in her honor to: Planned Parenthood; SFSPCA; Alzheimers Research; SFCommunity Music Center Scholarship Fund; Bayview Historical Society Education Fund.