Linda Ryan Bettinazzi, age 65, died peacefully in her home surrounded by her loving family on July 6, 2015. Daughter of the late William J. and Catherine (Corbett) Ryan, Linda was born on February 14, 1950 in Castle Shannon, PA, the youngest of four children. She cherished her Castle Shannon upbringing and graduated from St. Francis Academy in 1968. Linda attended the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing and graduated Cum Laude in 1973.

Linda’s nursing career spanned 40 years during which she developed an enduring passion for home healthcare and touched countless lives. Linda’s early nursing years took her from working as a staff nurse at the Presbyterian University Hospital in Pittsburgh to Junction, Jamaica where she worked as a public health nurse in a rural clinic, to Danville, PA as an RN, to Bangor, Maine as a nursing instructor at the Eastern Maine Medical Center, to Ashton, Idaho, and back to Indiana, Pennsylvania where she took on her first role at the VNA in 1981. Linda served as Director of Special Care and Hospice from 1995-2001 prior to being named President and CEO of the VNA of Indiana County. She retired in 2013.

During her time at the VNA, Linda was honored and recognized for her leadership, staff advocacy, and community service. Linda was a visionary who co-founded the Indiana County Healthcare Careers Consortium and served as a board member for the Tri-County Workforce Investment Board, Indiana Regional Medical Center, Indiana County Guidance Center, Communities at Indian Haven Advisory Board, the Counterterrorism Task Force of Indiana County, and the Regional Medicare Home Health Advisory Board. She was a member of numerous other professional and honorary organizations and committees.

In 2010, Linda was named the recipient of the Benjamin Rush Award, presented by the Indiana County Medical Society to a professional who has made an outstanding contribution to the health and welfare of Indiana County residents. Linda remained a firm believer and advocate for access to affordable, quality healthcare, especially end-of-life, palliative and hospice care.

Above all, Linda was a loving and devoted wife, mother, sister, aunt, mentor and friend. She loved to travel, read, garden, dance, bake, and relax on the beach in the Outer Banks surrounded by her family. Linda lived life with courage, grace, strength and resilience. Linda was a beautiful gift to all who knew her and will be forever remembered for her wisdom, laughter, energy, generosity, wit, sense of adventure, and smiling Irish eyes. She will be missed immensely but never forgotten.

Linda is survived by her beloved husband of 16 years, David Bettinazzi (married July 27, 1999); her children: Edward Lutz of Indiana, Elizabeth Abbott and her husband Lucas, of Denver, CO, Eric Lutz of Indiana ; two stepsons: Adam of Indiana and Dane of Asheville, NC; brother: William Ryan and wife, Anita of Canonsburg; sister: Mary Altman of Pittsburgh; sister JoAnne Kroboth and husband, Johnny of Pittsburgh; sister-in-law: Jodie Detwiler of Cranberry and numerous nieces and nephews.

Family and friends will be received Thursday from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Rairigh-Bence Funeral Home of Indiana. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held Friday at 10 a.m. at St. Bernard of Clairvaux Roman Catholic Church with interment to follow at St. Bernard Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Visiting Nurse Association of Indiana County, 850 Hospital Rd, #3000, Indiana, PA 15701.

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