Erlinda de Leon Gaston

Born in Manila, Philippines on March 4, 1934, she was the eldest daughter of the late Doroteo de Leon, Jr. and Juana de Leon of Makati, Philippines.

Linda was preceded by her husband retired Army Colonel Joseph Earl Gaston of Columbus, OH.

She is survived by her sisters, Angelita de Leon Rodriguez of Cavite, Philippines, Aracelli de Leon Paz (Antonio) of Columbus, Ohio; late brother, Eduardo De Leon (Melanie) of Rockwell, Makati Philippines; her three daughters, Jean Bettenhausen of Los Angeles, CA, Helen Cheong-leen (Felix) of Highland Park, IL and Mary Anne Brynildsen (Rick) of Midlothian, VA.

She very much loved her grandchildren, Nathan Bettenhausen of Mission Viejo, CA, Amber Bettenhausen Sands (Adam) of Littleton, Colorado, Michael Cheong-Leen of Tacoma, WA, Stephen Cheong-Leen of Highland Park, IL, Jason Cheong-Leen of Seattle, WA and Melissa Kurland of Bel Air, CA; as well as her great-grandchildren, Easton and Grayson Sands.

She attended Sta. Scholastica where she received her undergraduate degree from the University of the Philippines and competed as a backstroke swimmer. Afterwards, she then received her medical degree from Far Eastern University and a Nuclear Medicine degree from Ohio State University.

At Baltimore City Hospital (now known as Francis Scott Key Hospital), she worked as the Assistant Chief Radiologist. She also worked tirelessly at 5 other hospitals partially, to give relief to other colleagues and other smaller hospitals that needed her expert assistance.

At John Hopkins University, she was an Assistant Professor Emerita, School of Medicine for several years. When she retired from Francis Scott Key Hospital, she obtained multiple medical state licenses to enable her to practice medicine in any state that she wanted.

International travel was one of her greatest passions along with her exceptional culinary skills. As an accomplished classical pianist, she was also a graceful dancer.

She was an active member of the Radiological Society of North America for 50+ years. She participated in the non-profit Filipino Community in Columbus, Ohio (Pasco) and in Maryland (Katipunan). She also traveled multiple times to the Philippines to volunteer under the umbrella of the Medical Mission, going to rural areas in the Philippines to provide medical aid.

We wish to extend our gratitude to the staff at The Bickford of Chesterfield for providing great comfort and assistance to our Linda these last several years.