Successful businesswoman, producer, paralegal, horsewoman, loving wife and Malibu resident for 39 years, Linda Marie Fox-Dangaard succumbed July 12 after a decade-long battle with dementia. At her bedside was her husband Colin. Close friends came and went during a day of prayer and dancing to Elvis Presley in her bedroom. Her dog Jake was by the door.
Linda was born in St Louis, Mo., Dec. 2, 1954, and moved to California at 11, graduating with honors in 1973 from Culver City High. She became a paralegal and successfully settled small claims on commission. In May 1977, she divorced her first husband, Steve Fox, a marine, after a short marriage.
In 1978, she met Colin Dangaard, then Rupert Murdoch’s first Hollywood Editor for The National STAR, Murdoch’s first American business venture.
“Not only was Linda one of the most beautiful women I had ever met, she was also one of the smartest,” Colin recalled. “We became a great team, I with the crazy visions and Linda with her extraordinary ability to work figures. She inspired me with her overwhelming enthusiasm … Meanwhile, she filled our house with animals. There was not a living creature Linda didn’t love, which sure created domestic space problems.”
At age 49, Linda started showing symptoms of dementia.
“She forgot stuff and this shocked me,” Colin recalled. “Soon, she couldn’t work a calculator. She grew frustrated, confused. I fell into shock, and this morphed into a prolonged state of denial.”
Linda Fox-Dangaard would be officially diagnosed eight years later, in March 2011.
“Our business failed in lock-step with Linda’s cognizant decline,” Colin recalled, “as I lost my inspiration and, finally, the time needed to work, as I moved into a 24/7 role of caregiver … But it was all worth it because I got to be there for the lady I loved, when she needed me most.”
Linda is survived by her father Fredrick, of Idaho, mother Joanne, sisters Dawn and Vicky and brother Rick, all residents of Los Angeles County. A memorial is schedule at the Dangaard Malibu ranch, Saturday, July 29. Linda and Colin had no children.