72
70, passed away unexpectedly on Tuesday, December 27, 2022 at St. Luke's Boise Medical Center. Linda was born in Hagerstown, Maryland on January 4, 1952 to Harold and Darlene Zimmer. Her family moved to Camp Hill, Pennsylvania after her sophomore year, where she graduated from Cumberland Valley High School in 1970. Linda earned her bachelor degree in Psychology at Elizabethtown College after initially majoring in Music with emphasis in pipe organ. After graduation she worked in the insurance industry as a claims examiner specializing in litigation investigation. In 1979, her employer asked if she would accept a transfer away from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to Honolulu, Hawaii.There she met Howard Machado, a lifelong Hawaii resident and chief pilot for Hawaiian Airlines, and they married in 1983. After the wedding, Linda earned her MBA with emphasis in Accountancy from Chaminade University and was very proud of passing the CPA exam in one try. In 1988, a day after her 36th birthday, Linda gave birth to their daughter, Ashley. The family moved to Pennsylvania to be closer to Linda's relatives in 1993, and Linda returned to the workforce as a CPA before becoming an audit manager for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in a niche unit specializing in high value tax returns.
After Howard died December 21, 1995 due to a heart attack, Linda faced incredible loss and grief. It was just Linda and Ashley for many years until she met Gary Paterson. On March 4, 2005, a mutual friend arranged for them to meet at a Friday happy hour. Two days later, Linda and Gary had their first "date" at a Gershwin recital in Linda's church. Gary introduced her to his home state of Idaho later that year. On December 28, 2006, Gary proposed to Linda at the top of Brundage Mountain Ski Resort in McCall, Idaho. They married on August 25, 2007 in Camp Hill. After retiring in 2015, they moved to their new home in Eagle, Idaho where she joined Ashley as Idaho residents.
Linda was thrilled to live close to Ashley, her son-in-law Justin, and her three grandchildren: Madison (3) and identical twins Theo and Sutton (5 months). The family relied on Linda's steadfast support through many difficulties in 2022: Madison's juvenile Type 1 diabetes diagnosis, Ashley's complicated pregnancy with the twins, and the boys' premature birth at 29 weeks. Throughout it all, Ashley, Justin, and the kids proved to be just as strong and determined as their "Tutu."
Linda loved to snow ski, kayak, and gather huckleberries. In addition to yearly Hawaii visits, Linda's favorite vacations included New Orleans, Cabo San Lucas, California Wine Country, and Greece. Linda was proud that she always shared the driving during road trips in their motorhome.
Because of Linda's gregarious nature and love of life, she had many friends in Hawaii, Pennsylvania, and Idaho. She always put family first. In 2015, as she reflected on the 20 year anniversary of Howard's death, Linda wrote, "I am sure he is pleased that Ashley and I have had such wonderful friends and family to help us through these years, and particularly to find our new home in Idaho with the Paterson and Fullmer families."
Linda's 'ohana will remember her with much aloha and love in our hearts. Me Ke Aloha A Mau Loa. With love, always.
Services will be held at 2:00 p.m. Saturday, January 28, 2023 at Bowman Funeral Parlor, 10254 W. Carlton Bay Drive, Garden City, ID, 83714. A reception will immediately follow at the Two Rivers Clubhouse, 261 W. Island Woods Drive, Eagle. Celebrations of Linda's life will be determined at a later date and held in Eagle, ID, McCall, ID and Camp Hill, PA.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in Linda's memory to the
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
