KNOX — Linda M. Heath showed the same qualities as a wife and mother that she did as town clerk and councilwoman.
"She was very friendly, outgoing, helpful, and lovable," said her husband, George Heath. "If she had something to tell you to your face, it was told. She was a wonderful woman."

Mrs. Heath died peacefully at her Knox home on Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2005. She was 58.

She was born in Niskayuna and was a lifelong resident of Knox. She graduated from Berne-Knox-Westerlo High School in 1965.
Mr. Heath said he knew his wife-to-be for a long time before they began dating. "Being from Knox, I knew her through the firehouse and that," he said.

Mrs. Heath worked for the state’s Department of Civil Service for 27 years, most recently as an executive secretary.
"Her family was her life but her work was right up there," said her husband. While working full-time for the state, Mrs. Heath also served the town of Knox for 21 years — first as deputy town clerk, then as clerk, and finally as a town councilwoman.
"You would not believe how organized she was — right down to keeping a receipt from the grocery store," said Mr. Heath. "She just found the time to be a family person, to be a career woman, and to get involved in politics."
Just like an earlier town clerk, Snapper White, Mrs. Heath "sold hunting licenses right out of the house," said Mr. Heath. "She was always willing to help people."
Michael Hammond, the longtime Knox supervisor, said of Mrs. Heath, "What really stands out is how the townspeople enjoyed her smile and the friendly way she helped people."
He agreed that Mrs. Heath shared traits in common with Clerk White, who was an old-timer when Mr. Hammond arrived on the scene. "Linda did parallel Snapper’s fondness for the people. Both of them saw the good side of people," he said.
A Democrat, Mrs. Heath served on a town board that, for centuries, had been dominated by men. "It had to start someplace," said her husband of a woman being in a town leadership role. "She was a good one for it. She was always reading papers and reports, checking on things that others might have neglected. She was always on top of things."
When Mrs. Heath served on the town council, Mr. Hammond said, "She gave a lot of consideration and thought before making a motion and making things happen. There was a lot of depth to her."
Supervisor Hammond added, "Linda cut her own swath. She made her own way. She was her own person."

Despite her hard work for the town and the state, Mr. Heath said, his wife always made time for family.
"Every year, she’d take time off from work to take the grandchildren to the Altamont Fair," he said.

The Heaths enjoyed vacations together, visiting friends in Mississippi, and Mrs. Heath would help her husband out with his hotrods.

If she wanted to run an errand in town, she’d enjoy hopping into the ’72 Chevelle and going in style, he said.
"She enjoyed working with me on the older cars and car shows," said Mr. Heath. "She was just always willing to help."

***

Mrs. Heath is survived by her husband, George Heath of Knox; her son, Brett Klimek of Schenectady, her daughters Michele Loucks and her husband, Richard, of Knox and Kimberly Klimek and her companion, Shannon Parsons, of Mariaville Lake, N.Y.; her mother, Beatrice Duell of Knox; her brother, Ronald Duell, of Knox and her grandchildren, Kayla and Sean Loucks; also several aunts, uncles, cousins and friends.

Her father, Paul Duell, and her son, Sean Klimek, died before her.

A funeral service will be held at Fredendall Funeral Home in Altamont, Saturday at 11 a.m. Calling hours will be Friday evening from 4 to 8 p.m. Burial will be in Schenectady Memorial Park.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Riverview Cancer Care, 896 Riverview Rd., Rexford, NY 12148.