Linda O'Day

Linda O'Day Resident of Moraga, CA Linda passed away on September 16th, 2010 having lived a full and fulfilling life that spanned nearly 104 years. She was born on November 19, 1906 in Lincoln, Illinois. Moving to Chicago as a young woman she worked for The Bell Telephone Company while studying voice. After a brief marriage that produced her only child, she went to Hollywood to pursue a career as a singer. She variously worked as a professional singer, a children's portrait photographer and a technician at Technicolor Films. In 1943 she had a chance to work 'behind the scenes' at Republic Studios where the Westerns were made. A long career in the motion picture industry ensued also at Columbia, MGM, 20th Century Fox and Paramount. She was the only woman on the film editing crew for Stanley Kramer's Academy Award winning comedy, 'It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World'. She was a lifetime member of the Motion Picture Editors Guild. After her retirement in 1968 she moved from her longtime home in Beverly Hills to Moraga to be near her daughter's growing family. She more recently resided at the Happy Valley Home for Parents in Lafayette. She is survived by her daughter Linda Vilas and her husband Clark of Moraga, grandaughters Catharine (Mike) Ahr of Lafayette and Lise Wilson of Walnut Creek; great grandchildren Carolyn, Andrew and Madelyn Ahr and Zane and Wyatt Wilson and two nieces and a nephew in Southern California. She was preceded in death by younger sisters Ethel Thurman and Willametta Cline, both of whom lived past 90 years and resided in the Los Angeles area. There was a private family service.

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