Linda Joyce Tilson Davis October 2, 1944 — October 30, 2021

Linda Joyce Tilson Davis was born October 2, 1944 in Hood River, OR to Robert Joseph and Roberta Sinclair Tilson. She passed away on October 30, due to acute myeloid leukemia.

She grew up primarily in Forest Grove, Oregon, where she graduated from Forest Grove Union High School in 1962. She then graduated from Portland State University (PSU) in 1966 with a BS in geography and urban studies. In 1965 she married Charles (“Chuck”) Lund. They moved to San Francisco in 1968, where daughter Kristin was born.

In 1970, Linda was hired as a planner with the Mid-Willamette Valley Council of Governments in Salem. In 1973 she accepted the position of county planning administrator and long range planning director for the Ada Council of Governments in Boise, Idaho.

In 1974, she married H. Tom Davis in Boise, and gained two stepchildren, Michael and Linda. Their son, Nathaniel (Nat), was born in June, 1976. In November 1976 Linda was elected to a two-year term on the Board of Ada County Commissioners and was selected board chair. Linda was the first female county commissioner in Ada County’s history.

In 1978 the family moved to Beaverton, where Linda was hired as planning director and subsequently promoted to community development director for the city of Beaverton for 15 years. In 1994 she joined the consulting firm Cogan Owens Cogan in Portland. When she left, she and Tom moved to Sisters in 1999, into the house her father built in 1978. In 2005, she fully retired.

The family loved the adventures of wilderness backpacking, hiking, river rafting, canoeing, and kayaking. They enjoyed countless trips to remote areas of the Pacific Northwest, Idaho, British Columbia, Alaska, the Rockies, the southwest U.S., and the Oregon Coast.

Linda pursued many other interests including sewing, weaving, cooking, and reading. She was a member of the Central Oregon Spinners and Weavers Guild as well as other regional and national fiber-arts organizations, and held leadership positions in most of them. She taught workshops and wrote two books on weaving. She also engaged in writing about family history. In 2016 she self-published a book about her great-grandmother’s remarkable life.

In 2005 she became involved in the Deschutes Public Library as a member of the Friends of the Sisters Library, then was elected district library board member from 2010 until 2021. Passage of the bond issue for new and remodeled buildings in 2020 was the crowning achievement of her years on the board.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Bob and Bobbie.

Survivors include her husband, H. Tom Davis of Sisters; children Michael (Julie) Davis of Marysville, Washington, Linda (Don) Bowman of Grand Junction, Colorado, Kristin (Tom) Koontz of Tacoma, Washington, and Nathaniel Davis of Kooskia, Idaho; grandchildren Timothy (Amber) Davis of Dracut, Massachusetts, Lisa (Rudy) Franco of Arlington, Washington, Jennifer (Nate) Taylor of Boise, Idaho, Beth Bowman of Denver, Colorado, Ari Koontz of Providence, Rhode Island, Rosemary Koontz of Columbus, Ohio, Acacia Blyth of Papaaloa Hawaii, and Oskar Koontz of Tacoma, Washington; great-grandchildren Clara, Gordon, Maya, Gemma, and Ryan.

Siblings include Rick Tilson of Palm Springs, California; Craig (Elaine) Tilson of Federal Way, Washington; Doug (Luanne) Wilson of Aloha, Oregon; and Teri (Dale) Harvey of Bonney Lake, Washington.

She is also survived by numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins.

A celebration of life will be held some time in the future. The family has also set up a website to read her full story and look at photos from this remarkable woman’s life and contributions: http://memoriesoflinda.

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