Cancer patient helped others suffering with the disease
BY PHIL HARTMAN
SVN REPORTER
phartman@svnmail.com
Linda Reifsteck used to help others find that special piece of jewelry, and she helped fellow cancer patients get to appointments or have meals.
A Sterling resident, Reifsteck worked for more than 22 years in the jewelry department at J.C. Penney Co. in Sterling, retiring in May 2006.
"She managed it for quite a few years. She loved being around people, helping them," said Jodi Reifsteck, Linda's daughter of Sterling.
When Linda Reifsteck was diagnosed with lung cancer, she began volunteering at the Home of Hope between Dixon and Sterling, where area cancer patients and their families can turn to for discussion groups, grief counseling, stress reduction and more.
"She would make meals to take to other people, and give people rides to the doctor and to church. She did it just up until the time she couldn't do it herself," Jodi Reifsteck said.
Linda Reifsteck's cancer later spread to her bones.
She died Wednesday at her home in Sterling, at the age of 59.
Born in Tennessee, the former Linda Ricketts married Joseph Reifsteck in 1975. They were married in Hanover, in Carroll County, and enjoyed vacationing in the area.
"She enjoyed going up to Apple Canyon Lake in Jo Daviess County with my dad," said Rhonda Law, Linda's daughter of Savanna. "He would go up there from April through October and put a camper up there, and fished. He'd come home every month and a half, after he retired. She'd go up to visit him."
In her free time, Linda Reifsteck liked to create craft items, and enjoyed cooking.
"She made necklaces and bracelets from beads. She did sewing. She liked doing just about anything, culinary-wise," Jodi Reifsteck said.
