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Born in Ottumwa on April 7, 1932 and raised in Knoxville, Linda
McConville passed away in San Jose, Calif. on May 22, 2003, after a brief battle
with leukemia.
Linda was the daughter of Leo and Elizabeth Belknap; Betty being
a homemaker and 'Doc' the town veterinarian. Linda had one brother, Dennis, a former
pilot in the U.S. Air Force, who passed away in 1988.
Linda was raised in the Presbyterian
Church, U.S.A., and it was there in Knoxville at age 12 through the influence of
her mentors she came to know her first love of music. Linda learned both the piano
and organ, playing the great hymns of the church for every Sunday's service.
On
August 16, 1952, Linda and Dick were united in marriage at Saint Anthony's Catholic
Church in Knoxville.
Linda and the family have been members of Saint Martin of Tours
Catholic Church, where Linda's musical talent was shared with tens of thousands
over the years. She played for Sunday mass, weddings and funerals at St. Martin's
and other parishes throughout the Santa Clara Valley.
Outside of family, music was
her watest joy— touching so many lives, teaching to some while ever learning from
others. She was a regular attendee of the San Jose Opera as well as the symphony,
and a judge of up-and-coming talent for the Opera Guild. Linda delighted in tending
to her garden, especially her roses and irises coming into bloom for her favorite
holiday of Easter.
She was an avid film buff and a voracious reader. She participated
in local chamber groups and received awards of recognition from various organizations
and distinction all along the way. She greeted life with a wonderful sense of humor,
always trilling a melodious laugh. Her compassion was not only utilized in raising
her children and tending to the Catholic community, but in her later years, when
she spent a portion of her life tending to the daily needs of her own mother.
A
pillar in the San Jose community for 50 years, Linda is survived by her husband
Richard of San Jose; daughters, Melissa Ammerman of Morgan Hill, Molly McConville
of Los Gatos, and Erin and husband Sean McNally of Bakersfield; a son, Matthew McConville
of San Jose and daughter Sheila McConville of Los Gatos; cousins and varied relatives across the globe,
and surely by the countless lives she touched through her musical ministry and magical
mode of living.
Funeral services were held Friday, May 30, at 7 p.m. at Saint Martin
of Tours Catholic Church in San Jose, Calif.
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