Linda Mae Mahon was born February 23, 1947 and grew up on her family ranch in Elk Grove, which was established in 1882 by her great-grandparents. Her great-great-grandparents were the first in her family to settle in Elk Grove in 1848. Throughout her life she was fortunate enough to have elders who not only appreciated their heritage and their ancestors but also spent a tremendous amount of time and effort preserving and passing on stories, photographs, and artifacts from the past to their descendants.

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Continuing this legacy became a life-long passion for Linda. She was always interested in hearing the stories of pioneer families and took great pride in remembering and relating these stories every chance she had; which she did until September 29, 2015. After a short but strong fight, Linda passed away from a very rare and extremely aggressive form of Thyroid Cancer. As a way to honor her and keep her passion thriving, her family and friends have established the Linda Mae Mahon Lema Foundation.