Linda Marlene (Anthony) Saylor

Born January 25, 1947 to James Turner Anthony III and Beatrice Okuno Anthony. Linda was born in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania and called the Green Lantern (currently Orange: Coffee. Art. Music.) in Delaware Water Gap her childhood home. She grew up in a multigenerational family with her grandfather Ainoskue “Pop” Okuno, parents, and brother, Butch (James Turner Anthony IV). They lived and worked together in the Green Lantern. She grew up close with her cousins enjoying visits to “Uncle e-i-e-i-o’s” farm, and time with dear friends from school. Active in the choir at the Presbyterian Church of the Mountain across the street from home, she went to school for her primary grades directly behind her home in Delaware Water Gap.

She attended Stroudsburg High School and played saxophone in the concert band. She had a ball with her friends marching at the football games. She had a beautiful voice and sang in the high school chorus, friends remember her nervously preparing for “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire” at the Christmas concert. Her father was the town fire chief and even as a little girl, she was sent to activate the fire alarm for the Volunteer Fire Company. She helped her family, by working in the gift shop and grill or running the snack bar at the Fred Waring Music Workshop. Growing up, every chance she got she would ride her bicycle out to Cherry Valley and spend the day. In the winter she would ice skate on Lake Lenape with her brother. Friends remember spending nights together on the porch outside her bedroom over the ice cream parlor and gift shop. 

She went to Westchester State College and was a music major, and then transferred her sophmore year to the California State Teacher’s College, in Pennsylvania where she graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Education and a minor in Music. She graduated college, turned 21 and the next day she started teaching at Rostraver Elementary. She looked so young that the school janitor assumed she was an elementary student and told her she wasn’t allowed on campus yet since it was not school hours. 

Her freshman year of college she went on a blind date with her roommates and their boyfriends and met Darwin Saylor. He was in the Navy at a nearby technical school in Maryland. They dated throughout college and he proposed when he took her to meet his parents in Idaho, on the banks of the Snake River. Her future father in law enjoyed trying to convince her that jackalopes existed in the wild west. Darwin and Linda married after graduation on June 8th, 1968 in Belle Vernon, Pennsyvlania. The couple immediately moved briefly to Long Beach, California where Darwin was stationed in the Navy and then to San Diego, California. Darwin then quickly headed to Vietnam for the third time and Linda moved back to Belle Vernon and continued her teaching. She mailed a fruit cake to the ship that Christmas. While heading back to the US from Subic Bay the ship was only able to refuel but not to take on supplies, Darwin survived on that fruit cake. He returned from Vietnam on the day of their 1st Wedding Anniversary and they moved back to San Diego where Darwin was discharged from the Navy. Linda got a teaching position in Inglewood, California while Darwin went to Northrop Tech and when he graduated they moved for the last time to San Diego in 1973 and it became their forever home. 

Linda taught mainly 1st and 2nd graders for 32 years. She loved teaching and making every child feel special. A favorite expression to her students was, “you all have winning smiles.” In 1992 Linda completed her Masters degree in Education, her focus was on creating a positive environment for all children. Upon her retirement a fellow teacher shared that every kid in Mrs. Saylor’s class thought that they were her favorite student, this was due to her desire as a teacher to make sure every single one of her student’s felt special. 

She had two of her own children, Darren Saylor and Danielle (Saylor) Bossen and was a proud grandma to Dylan, Morgan and Shenandoah Bossen. After retirement she and Darwin took to the road with their travel trailer to camp and visit friends and family while exploring all of the lower 48 states. She enjoyed camping locally with friends from the Convair Travelers or celebrating birthdays or tea with close girl friends for 40 plus years. She loved dogs, having Boots, Ralph and Jocie over her life and 4 grandpuppies and a grand cat. Even though she was terribly allergic she befriended a stray cat that she warmed bath towels for to create a luxiourious nest and an umbrella for cover. She enjoyed the arts when she had time. She was a helper with the children at St Mark’s United Methodist Church aiding with Sunday School or as a choir mom for the Children’s Choir helping kids memorize their hymns and where she also sang in the Chancel choir. Linda assisted with scouts, and chaperoned her kids high school choir on trips. She supported so enthusiastically at track meets for her son and daughter that her hands would hurt from the power of her clapping. She was an amazing grandma soaking up every opportunity to cheer her grandchildren on at every event, game, performance and celebration that was possible. Her family was very proud of her when she took up Rock Steady Boxing with her dear friend Can Do Sue, Linda was Will Do and they were quite the boxing buddies. She even completed her first 5K with this amazing community of fighters.

Linda’s warmth, kindness, infectious energy and inability to sit still will be greatly missed. She maintained the ears of a teacher her entire life able to eavesdrop on conversations from great distances. There was no such thing as a quick trip into a store, as no doubt she would find a friend or make a friend and chat away. Linda had a vibrant smile and joyful laugh. She loved dinosaurs, freezing chicken bones in bags of water so her little paleontologists could chisel them out in class. Unfortunately, one time the ziplock broke allowing her family to also become paleontologists to get the freezer to open and remove the bones at home. A grown student of hers once bumped into her decades later at a grocery store and asked, “were you the dinosaur teacher?” 

Her grandchildren loved the songs she would sing to them like “I am a stegasaurus” or “gray squirrel” and she’d shake her bushy tail. They affectionately called her Grandma Ts, named from the “Ts” sound she would make as she danced with them as babies in her arms. She made homemade books and shirts for them on whatever their interests were, played hide n go seek virtually and in person, root beer float parties with family, ice cream for dinner when dad was out of town and then of course there were her amazing lemon bars squeezed fresh from her lemon tree and as sunny as she was, her pumpkin bread at Thanksgiving, the fudge that she would stir until her arm cramped at Christmas and the family favorite- grandma’s yakisoba. The stories and memories are endless and our wish is for her kindness and love for others to carry on forever. 

Preceded in death by her parents. Linda is survived by her husband of 57 years, her brother, children including her son in law, Brook Bossen, grandchildren and many family and friends. 

A celebration of life will take place in August. 

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