Linda Carol Doolen, 78, of Los Alamos, N.M., beloved sister, aunt, and friend, died in the early evening of July 22, 2025, at BeeHive Homes of White Rock, N.M., where she had been since having a severe stroke in March.
Linda was born on March 22, 1947, at the hospital in Salem, Illinois. She grew up in Kinmundy, Illinois, the youngest child of Gilbert Lowe Doolen and Mabel Lois Headley Doolen. She had a lifelong love of nature and animals, especially cats. When she was young, she had a series of pet cats named for characters in popular TV shows. She had cat companions her entire life and often would care for friends’ cats and dogs when they were out of town.
She was active in the Kinmundy-Alma High School Class of in 1965, then attended the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign as a biology major. She graduated in 1969 with a Bachelor of Science in Liberal Arts and Sciences. At UofI, she met Jeffrey Willis, whom she married in 1969 at Kinmundy Methodist Church. They divorced in 1998.
She retired from Los Alamos National Laboratory, where she started in 1976 as a Biochemical Technician. She enjoyed hiking the trails around Los Alamos regularly. She was an avid supporter of the Pajarito Environmental Education Center in Los Alamos since its inception, and donated to many nonprofits.
Linda loved to travel and did so from a young age, first with her parents to locales in the U.S., and North America. She and her brother John took many international trips, including to Ireland and Mexico. Ireland was also one of the many destinations she visited with cousin Shari Crockett.
Especially since retiring, she and long-time companion Richard Bagley traveled coast-to-coast across the U.S. and Canada, including Nova Scotia. Many of their visits were to national parks, historic sites, and wildlife refuges. They regularly visited family as part of their travels, and Linda kept in touch with regular phone calls and cards at holidays.
She is preceded in death by her parents, sister-in-law Dorothy Doolen, sister-in-law Nina Doolen, brother-in-law Wayne Shanafelt, nephew Howard Leslie Doolen, and nephew Dan Doolen.
She is survived by long-time companion Richard Bagley, brothers Glenn Maurice Doolen, John Gilbert Doolen, and Gerald Leslie Doolen, and sister Barbara Louise Shanafelt, as well as nieces and nephews Steve Doolen, Cathy Wilkins, Leigh Ann Birdsell, Damon Doolen, Dina Doolen, Meri Jo Shanafelt, and Ron Shanafelt.
Linda requested to be cremated. A memorial service will be held at a later date in Kinmundy, Illinois.
