Linda Ruth Abbott Cheedle

Linda Ruth Abbott Cheedle passed away on January 5, 2021, aged 81. She was born on April 13, 1939 in Scottsbluff, Nebraska to Lowell and Helen Abbott, and grew up with her sister Sally and brothers James and Michael. As a young child, Linda realized her lifelong passion for art. She won a portrait award at age seventeen and had the winning portrait displayed at the Hallmark Gallery in Kansas City.

Linda Abbott received a Speech Therapy degree from Texas Women's University in 1961, and taught in the Denver school system. Here she met William Cheedle, and they married in 1963. Linda combined motherhood and her painting career while raising a daughter and three sons in Denver, moving to Fort Collins in 1972.

Linda received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, Cum Laude, from Colorado State University in 1993. She continued to work as an artist and as a teacher's aide in the Poudre R-1 school system.

For nearly sixty years, Linda accepted commissions to create many portraits of children, adults and animals. She also painted and drew landscapes and created book illustrations, specializing in pastel, watercolor and colored pencil. Linda cherished her art, her friends, and her family. She was a former member of PEO and the Portrait Society of America. The progression of vascular dementia caused her to move to Brookdale Crossings Memory Care in 2019.

Linda was preceded in death by her parents and siblings. She is survived by her former husband and dear friend William Cheedle of Fort Collins; children Susan (Brian Gleason) of Fort Collins, David Cheedle of Denver, Thomas (Elaine) of Matthews, NC, and Michael (Sarah) of Culver City, CA; her granddaughters Lindsay Gleason, Catherine and Lauren Cheedle, and Gemma Cheedle; and many friends and relatives. We will always remember the good times we had together, especially when she enjoyed spending Christmas 2019 with all her family. She will be laid to rest in Fort Collins, and a celebration of her life is planned for later this year.