By BETTY-JO TILLEY Special to the Palisadian-Post Pacific Palisades resident Linda Palazzolo Duffey, 56, a Detroit native and California resident since 1983, passed away on September 1 with her husband Gordon and son Samuel, 17, at her side. Close by were her mother and sister, Eda and Diana Palazzolo, along with several of the many supportive and cherished friends who visited her in the last week of her life. After high school, Linda studied at the University of Michigan, the American Academy of Siena in Italy and the Center for Creative Studies. She received a B.F.A. in interior architecture from Kendall School of Design in Grand Rapids in 1977 and embarked on a long and successful career in design. After learning the basics of her trade at Smith, Henchman and Grills in Detroit, Linda joined Robert Kimball and Associates in Oklahoma City, where she directed residential and commercial interior design projects. She was then hired as by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Michigan to redesign all executive offices, conference rooms, cafeterias and the main headquarters, and to oversee the renovation of several Blue Cross facilities in Detroit. She was lured to California as Director of Interior Design and Construction Manager for Jacobs Engineering in Pasadena, where she worked on the Lockheed Martin Missiles account and designed high-rise office buildings and commercial properties throughout California. Linda launched her own design firm, Palazzolo & Company, in 1987 and for a decade was responsible for commercial interior design, renovation, contractor bidding and construction management of aerospace and specialized companies. Her clients included Aerodynamics, Inc., Northrop, TRW, San Gabriel Hospital, the Royal Saudi headquarters and numerous insurance firms, restaurants and other commercial projects. In 1989, Linda married John (‘Gordon’) Duffey, a businessman, producer/director, composer and concert pianist. After their son, Samuel, was born in 1993, they joined the St. Matthew’s community, where Samuel proceeded from Mommy & Me through eighth grade. At St. Matthew’s, Linda’s professional talents turned philanthropic as she devoted herself to giving generously to school events and fundraisers. Most memorable was her creation of the Kindergarten Quilt for Samuel’s class, a project that yielded a record-setting $24,000 to benefit St. Matthew’s School. For the next six years, Linda designed and created exclusive personalized quilts and wall art made of vintage fabrics for clients of her firm, Legacy Quilts. Many of these quilts required research into family history and incorporated crests, names and photographs and were over 10’x10′ in size. Those created for charity auctions raised upwards of $30,000. Over the last several years, Linda’s organizational talent and lifelong hobby of cooking led her to major event planning. Always generous to Samuel’s school community, she worked tirelessly to create an exotic India- themed event for eighth-grade graduating mothers. She was most proud of two events that featured Samuel’s rock ‘n’ roll band, Black Jack, which included his teen friends and fellow St. Matthew’s students. The events benefited homeless teens by creating a summer camp where five boys (ages 12 to 14) learned to play as a band and performed their first concert. Shortly after Samuel’s birth, Linda was diagnosed with breast cancer. During her long struggle with metastasis to various organs and eventually her entire body, she credited her strength and perseverance to Gordon’s love and especially Samuel’s care and inspiration. Driven by total commitment to her son, she immensely enjoyed fostering his creative and musical pursuits and was considered a surrogate mother to many teens. Linda will be remembered for her generosity to individuals and community, her creative talents, passion for life and enthusiasm for projects. A memorial service will be held at noon on Friday, September 10, at St. Matthew’s Church, 1031 Bienveneda. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions be made to a fund to be established for Samuel’s benefit. For this purpose, checks should be made out to Samuel Duffey and sent to P.O. Box 885, 15332 Antioch St., Pacific Palisades, CA 90272.
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