Linda Nelson Oates

Linda Nelson Oates of Belmont, Massachusetts, passed away on March 11, 2026, after a brief illness. Born on April 11, 1943, in Port Chester, New York, she grew up in Rye, New York, the daughter of Margaret (Paskol) and Maurice Nelson and sister to Maggie and Donald. Deeply shaped by her tightly knit maternal Lithuanian immigrant family, Linda moved to New Haven, Connecticut, after high school to attend Grace-New Haven nursing school. There she met Daniel Oates, a Yale undergraduate, and they married in 1965.

Over the following years, Linda and Daniel lived in several Boston-area communities, Bonn, Germany, and Fairhaven, New Jersey, before settling permanently in Belmont in 1978. While raising their daughters, Katherine and Alexandra, Linda earned her BSN from Rutgers in 1977 and her MPH from Boston University in 1983. A fierce advocate for women’s education as a means to intellectual fulfillment and financial independence, she built a long and varied nursing career that included work in operating rooms, occupational therapy, and clinical research. She took particular pride in her years at the Faulkner Headache Center, where she cared for patients and contributed to migraine research. She concluded her professional life as Director of Nursing at Fisher College, where she managed immunizations, supported student life, and cherished her colleagues.

In retirement, Linda devoted herself to her grandchildren, Enzo and Fiona, whom she lovingly called “Oma.” She shared her passion for classical music with them, bought them a keyboard, and faithfully drove them to piano lessons while generously offering sweets. She remained deeply engaged in Belmont civic life, serving as a town meeting member for 36 years beginning in 1986. She contributed to the Warrant Committee, Traffic Advisory Committee, and the committees that brought Belmont its modern fire stations on Trapelo Road and Leonard Street. A longtime election worker, she was committed to the integrity of the democratic process. Her love for Payson Park, her neighbor for 47 years, was evident in her efforts to plant trees, support the summer music festival, lead its renovation project, and even coach T-ball there in the early 1990s for a group of children who needed a coach.

Linda is survived by her husband of 60 years, Daniel; her daughters, Katherine and Alexandra; her sons-in-law, Enrique Pizana and Matthew Loftin; and her beloved grandchildren, Enzo and Fiona, all of Belmont. An animal lover throughout her life, she found joy in the many pets that shared her home. She also treasured summers on Cape Cod with her family, savoring the sun, sand, and seafood, and the enduring friendships formed in her Payson Park neighborhood.