Linda S. Dale Donofrio

Her life was spent between living in New York in her early childhood and young adulthood years and then living in California in her later childhood, teen years and adult life from the age of 29. She met her husband Joe on a blind date in January 1979 and they fell in love shortly thereafter. They subsequently were in love together for the next 41 years and married for 36.

Linda was a truly amazing and wonderful woman. She was a fantastic, loving mother to her three children Amy, Candice and Breanna and grandmother to her four grandchildren Cameron, Haden, Ryton and Dylan. She always prioritized their wellbeing and found time to be playful and supportive of them throughout her life.

Linda was a highly respected nurse on the Monterey Peninsula where she worked for 12 years at the Community Hospital of Monterey Peninsula and the Monterey Peninsula Surgery Center. She also worked as an emergency room nurse in Southern California for 15 years including at the Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura and Fountain Valley Hospital.

Linda was an incredibly talented woman that could have had three other careers. She was well known around the Peninsula as one of our community's finest actresses performing at many shows for the Paper Wing Theater, Monterey Peninsula College Theater, Pink Flamingo Theater and Magic Circle Theater.

She renovated and restored two Victorian homes in Pacific Grove and won the highest honor of the local Heritage Society by being bestowed with the Heritage House of the Year award. Her interior and exterior design skills were impeccable.

When she was a young woman in New York she was very successful working in real estate with her aunt and with her charm, intelligence, and personality could have undoubtedly had a successful career in that field as well.

Mostly Linda will be remembered as one of the most kind and generous women you would ever meet. She wouldn't think twice about giving a stranger the shirt off her back, the shoes off her feet, a hot meal or help them find a place to sleep. She always put the needs of others in front of her own. She was incredibly charitable, volunteering her time at the Food Bank of Monterey County, Christmas and Thanksgiving Community Dinners, St. Mary's Food Pantry and the Fund for Homeless Women among many others.

She also did community organizing by being an administrator online for many local community support groups and by organizing the "Buy Nothing, Give Something” Facebook group this past year that quickly had 1600 members who would gift each other free items.

Lastly, she was also especially well-known locally for her charitable giving at holiday time by opening her garage the past several years for “Operation Holiday Cheer” to give away hundreds of donated clothes and toys for needy families around the Monterey Peninsula.

Linda Dale-Donofrio was an inspiration and model for us all on understanding the true meaning of a life well-lived. She will be missed terribly by her family and all of her friends and she will be long remembered in the community by all the lives she touched on the Monterey Peninsula.

A memorial event in Linda's honor will be delayed due to current COVID restrictions. Anyone wishing to make a donation in Linda's name can do so by contributing to the Food Bank of Monterey County or the Fund for Homeless Women of the Monterey Peninsula.