Linda Susan Worlton

Linda Susan Worlton was born on June 18, 1942 and passed away on December 28, 2021. Linda was, to anyone who met her, a caretaker. She started this job early, helping to raise her two younger brothers, Steve and Bob, as well as her younger sister, Beth, in her home of Los Angeles, California. After graduating high school she attended East Los Angeles College and earned a degree in nursing in 1962. While Linda loved her profession and was a constant credit to it, she was often heard to say that her main goal in life was to have a family. Linda was always happiest when surrounded by her children, Craig, Krista and Brad, and later grandchildren, Ethan, Naomi, Eva and Alanya. She was also fortunate enough to expand her circle of love to her step-children and their grandchildren. At family gatherings she enjoyed cooking for everyone, to the degree that it was often hard to get her to sit down and enjoy the fruits of her labors!

Linda was a “compulsive nurturer” — if you had a plant that was struggling, a baby bird who fell out of a nest, an ill relative or a child with an unexplained rash, Linda was your person. Her passion for helping others led her to continue to expand her skills. In 1978 she graduated with a Nurse Practitioning degree from Northwestern University and was proud to tell folks that she placed in the top 1% nationally on her qualifying exam! She also had a voracious curiosity about eastern traditions for preventative health, and began a personal yoga practice in the 1960’s that blossomed into teaching Hatha yoga in the 1980’s. Later this would lead into meditation which aided her recovery from a very serious cancer in 1990, and eventually to her passion for Tai Chi Chih. Linda understood both on a personal and professional level the power of the mind and body working together in harmony, and promoted that position for all of her clients in her role as a pediatric nurse practitioner, parenting coach, ophthalmological and surgical nurse, Alzheimer’s caregiver and Tai Chi Chih practitioner.

While many people would rest on these laurels, Linda hungered for more knowledge and earned a bachelor's degree in Psychology for Arizona State University in 2006 and an accreditation as a Tai Chi Chih instructor in 2018. This last leg of her professional journey was what saw her through the pandemic in her last few years. Linda was a terrific people-person, and thankfully was able to connect with others, teaching virtually not only locally but even in Columbia, again upping her knowledge by teaching in Spanish! She was tremendously excited about a collaboration with her friend and colleague, Regina Sabogal, in which they were writing a manual to assist in teaching Tai Chi Chih in Spanish. While Linda was not able to finish this passion project we know she will be gratified to see it published posthumously, and to know that her contribution to extending the Tai Chi Chih tradition will continue for many years to come.

Another area where Linda gave a great deal of time and attention was to the Alzheimer’s Association as a group facilitator. Her own experience caring for her beloved second husband, Jim Worlton, showed her the importance of supporting families through this difficult journey. While many people would turn away from an issue so painfully close to home, Linda dove in and shared her hard-earned lessons with those who needed them the most.

Linda wrote about her passion for preventing and treating “dis-ease”, whether that be a physical ailment, emotional wound or spiritual struggle. She lended a hand wherever and whenever the need arose. Those around Linda never saw her turn away a person she could help. It was her true calling in life and brought her great joy and a deep sense of purpose.

Linda will be missed for a lot of things. For her warm hugs, willingness to always lend an ear, prolific medical knowledge, can-do attitude, championing of underdogs, love of learning and terrific pasta sauce. She touched many people in her long and traveled life and we hope she is finally able to sit down, put her feet up and enjoy the knowledge that she was deeply loved. We miss you, Linda, and we thank you for enriching our lives for so many years.

In lieu of flowers the family is requesting that donations be sent to the Alzheimer's Association at https://act.alz.org/site/Donation2?df_id=32112&32112.donation=form1&utm_source=google&utm_medium=paidsearch&utm_campaign=google_giving&set.custom.wt=giving&gclid=Cj0KCQiAubmPBhCyARIsAJWNpiONWoUekjW29wS1w8YOs9LMnVkBiMxIHw7q8T_nDVxGFffxrh3L_mUaAqFaEALw_wcB