- Date Of Birth: April 15, 1960
- Date Of Death: January 23, 2018
- State: Illinois
Linda Marie Casolari, 57, of Clermont, FL passed away Tuesday, January 23, 2018. Linda was born and raised in Spring Valley, IL. When she was 30 years old she moved with her two young daughters Sarah and Adria to California. She had her son Colton in Mission Viejo, CA where she lived for 10 years; she later moved to Clermont, FL where she lived for the last 14 years.
After high school, Linda attended cosmetology school and worked as a hairstylist for 10 years. She later moved to Chicago to attend The Chicago School of Massage Therapy. She worked with a number of chiropractors over her 27-year career. She trained in such specialties as sports injury and infant massage among many other techniques. Linda very much enjoyed her career as a massage therapist; she bragged to her daughters that she had the most positive reviews on Yelp for the South Lake Wellness & Injury Center where she worked. Her clients said things like, “She wasn’t just my massage therapist, but my friend”, “She was my massage therapist and she healed my body.” She took pride in her career, but for her, it wasn’t just a job, but her life’s enjoyment.
When her children were young Linda was an instructor for La Leche League, an organization that helps mothers learn to breastfeed their children. Linda’s son Colton was born with Autism and she was a public speaker for special needs advocacy. She was a member of many groups for mothers with special needs children and did public speaking on their behalf.
Linda’s hobbies included cooking, dancing, sewing, going for rides on her boat, traveling, attending church, and having lunch with family and friends. Linda was the kind of person you could go to when you needed advice or knowledge on any subject such as health and wellness, breastfeeding, hair styling, raising children with special needs, or encouragement about family or God. Linda loved her family her sister Kelly was her best friend, and she enjoyed taking trips to visit with her and her brother, Rick. Linda was a proud mother and grandmother of 3, she enjoyed traveling to visit her children and grandchildren in California every chance she could and she had hoped to move back to California one day. Linda was also a talented seamstress her step-mother remembers from high school, taking things apart and making new creations. Linda was so talented she could make anything from quilts to dresses, to curtains, and she even made her daughter Sarah’s prom dress. When Linda’s son Colton passed away she made quilts for family members out of his t-shirts. Linda loved to tell jokes and knew how to make people laugh. She got her sense of humor from her father. She was good at doing impersonations and storytelling. She could captivate any audience and make everyone laugh. Linda was baptized at the First Baptist Church in Peru, IL. She raised her three children as Christians and they were all baptized with strong faiths, which they attribute to their mother’s teachings. Her oldest daughter went on to study Biblical Studies in college and earned her Master’s Degree from Fuller Seminary. Linda attended church at Family Christian Center in Clermont, FL. She did not just preach her faith, but she lived it out through her actions and love for others. Linda was the rock everyone turned to. When things got tough she was the one to call for advice, a listening ear, and she knew just the right things to say. Linda was a light and a blessing to all who knew her. When Linda left this earth unexpectedly, everyone who knew her lost their best friend. Now there is a hole in the world for the place that Linda once filled. Linda would have wanted her family and friends to turn to each other in this time of loss, and find strength in the hope of God. Linda’s daughters welcome friendship from any of Linda’s friends and hope to better learn about their mother through their stories.
Linda is survived by her daughters and their husbands: Sarah and Bryan Gordon of Upland, CA, Adria and Jerard Lopez of Orange, CA; grandchildren, Jerard Lopez, Jr., Alyssa Gordon, Aaliyah Lopez, and Jordan Lopez; parents, Richard and Marty Casolari of Spring Valley, IL; siblings, Rick and Jamie Casolari of Lostant, IL and Kelly Baxter of Chicago, IL; nephews and nieces, Kane Casolari, Shaun Armstrong and Kelsey Casolari.
She was preceded in death by her mother, Lois Schell Locy on December 24, 2014, and her son, Colton Rhines on June 4, 2010.
