Linda Heivly Heivly Gemelli

She was born on November 24, 1936 in Jersey Shore, PA, to Harold Carl Heivly and Marjorie (Young) Heivly, the second of three children. After graduation from Haverford High School in Haverford, PA, Linda attended the University of Delaware and worked as a legal secretary for law firms in Pittsburgh and Media, PA. Linda then worked as an executive secretary in the U.S. State Department in Washington D.C. prior to being transferred to Heidelberg, Germany. It was while working in USAREUR headquarters for the U.S. Foreign Service in Germany that she met her future husband of 51 years, Thomas James Gemelli, stationed in Heidelberg, Germany, while he was serving in the United States Army.

Linda and Tom married on February 3, 1962 in the Fox Chapel Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh, PA, and settled in Portland, OR where Linda worked as a legal secretary for Stoel Rives. Her husband’s career as an executive in the food service industry would also take them to California, Pennsylvania, Texas, Colorado, and finally back to Oregon in 1989. While living in Orange County, CA, and pregnant with her third child and raising two others, Linda completed her undergraduate studies and graduated from the University of California at Irvine with a BA degree in Social Ecology, an accomplishment of which she was very proud.

Linda enjoyed gardening, arranging flowers, crossword puzzles, reading, cooking and baking, and walking outdoors and observing nature, particularly the flowers, trees and birds found along her Interlachen Lane home at Blue Lake and Fairview Lake. A person of deep faith, she enjoyed being a member of the Presbyterian Church. She was formerly a member of the Pittsburgh Ski Club and was affiliated with the American Association of University Women. She valued education and learning and was very encouraging and proud of her daughters’ obtaining degrees in higher education. Most of all, Linda loved being a wife and mother – she was tremendously supportive, caring, thoughtful, and had an endless capacity of selfless giving and unconditional love. Linda’s passing has left a great void, and she will be very much missed.

Linda is survived by her loving husband, Thomas, of Fairview, OR; three daughters, Cassandra Gemelli (Robert Shaffer) of Portland, OR, Marcella Gemelli (Nicholas Zelich) of Phoenix, AZ, Alicia Gemelli of West Chester, PA; brother Douglas Heivly of Allentown, PA; and two grandsons, Nathaniel and Andre. She was preceded in death by her brother Garth Heivly.

Funeral service will be on Monday, November 25th at 10:00am at the Bateman Carroll Funeral Home in Gresham, OR followed by a reception and concluding graveside service at 12:30pm at Willamette National Cemetery.

The family would like to express their heartfelt thanks and gratitude to Linda’s caregivers from Visiting Angels and to the staff at Marquis at Mt. Tabor for their kind and professional assistance in Linda’s care.