Registered nurse, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, guitarist, pickleball champion

Linda Marie Bailey-Theders, a recent Claremont resident, compassionate nurse, loving mother, grandmother, great grandmother, budding guitarist, and champion at pickleball, died on April 21 unexpectedly from a heart attack. She was 68.

Linda was born in Pomona on March 10, 1954, to Rose Marie Orosco, a single mother who was already raising a son, Wayne, who was five years old. She lived her early years in Baldwin Park. When her mother married Fred Kenyon “Buck” Haywood in 1962, the family moved to Delay Avenue in Glendora. She attended Azusa schools, and graduated from Gladstone High School.

She met her first husband, Dee Stewart, while in high school. They were married from 1971 to 1975 and in 1971 had a son, Peyton Dee Stewart. During this time she began a career in the telecommunications industry, working for General Telephone in Covina. She had a second son, Joseph Wade, in 1977. She always loved music, and while taking fiddle lessons she met her second husband, Freeman House. They were married in 1979, and in 1980 welcomed a daughter, Sarah Rose. They divorced in 1985.

In 1981 she was assigned to General Telephone’s Glendora office, where she met her third husband, Ron Theders. Friends for more than four years, they began a courtship after both of their marriages ended in divorce, and were married on May 10, 1986. Their daughter, Caitlin Elizabeth, was born in 1988. The family moved from La Verne to Glendora in 1989.

By 1992 her career with General Telephone was ending because of reorganization. She went back to school with the idea of starting a second career. While attending Citrus College, her mother Rose suffered a severe stroke. This traumatic event led her to decide to become a registered nurse. She graduated from Citrus College with associate of science degrees in natural science and biology. She was accepted into the Los Angeles School of Nursing in the fall of 1996, and graduated in 1998.

Her second career in preventive medicine began at the Keck USC School of Medicine. After five  years she moved to USC’s Clinical Research Support Office as a research nurse, working on radiological and laboratory studies. In 2008 she moved to the radiation oncology clinic at the USC/Norris Cancer Hospital, treating patients with breast, prostate, and head/neck cancers.

She retired from USC in 2012. It was a short-lived retirement though, as she began working for Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center in its radiation oncology clinic. She moved to Riverside Community Hospital in 2015 in the same capacity.

In 2018 she and husband Ron decided to move from Glendora after nearly 30 years. She was smitten by the ambiance and charm of Claremont, and the move was completed in April 2019. She finally retired completely in June of that year. While only living in Claremont for a short time, she embraced the community with open arms and a loving heart.

She loved watching movies at the Laemmle Claremont 5 theater, going to the farmer’s market and dining at the many restaurants in the Village. The couple attended the Joslyn Jammer’s sessions at the Joslyn Center. She began guitar lessons in October 2021 with local teacher David Hostetler. She continued as a member of a hiking and book club for over 15 years with a marvelous group of women in Glendora. In December 2021 she began pickleball lessons and during an end of class round robin tournament finished in third place, much to her surprise and delight.

She is survived by her husband of 35 years, Ron Theders; son Peyton Stewart of Glendora; son Joseph House of Claremont; daughter Sarah Rose House-Lightner of Los Angeles; daughter Caitlin Theders of Claremont; 11 grandchildren; one great grandson; and a brother, Wayne Bailey of Azusa.