Linda May McCallum

Linda May Hughes McCallum, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, passed away peacefully August 5, 2026 with family by her side. Although her memory was slowly taken from her by dementia, she remained the heart of our family. Linda May Hughes was born March 20th 1940 in Portland Oregon, the second daughter of Robert LaVern Hughes (of Cambria, Wisconsin) and Zephora May (Maiden name Jones of Colorado). For the most part she and her older sister Joan spent their early years on the Hughes family farm in Columbus, Wisconsin while her father worked in Madison during the war years. After the war, the family moved back to suburban Portland where they ultimately built their new home on the lot next door. Robert was a machinist and built many pieces of equipment including a brick making machine and a tractor, but was a skilled carpenter as well. Linda grew up in suburban Portland attending Gilbert Elementary and David Douglas High School. She was active in building the family home and volunteered in the Civil Air Patrol during her high school years. After graduating from high school, she worked as a telephone operator. She loved skiing and riding motorcycles. In 1958, Linda met Orval Cameron McCallum at Springer's in Gresham, Oregon and soon after they were married in her parents’ home that she helped to build. Orval was in the military and the two of them traveled to Camp Pendleton and then to Camp LeJeune, North Carolina where she had the first of three boys, Mark. They then traveled back to Oceanside California where they lived for two more years. While Orval was stationed near the Sierra Nevada’s for training, their second son Mike was born at the Portland Airbase. Orval took emergency leave and made it to the hospital in quick time. She reminisced often about those early years and the beautiful beaches of California. When Orval was discharged, they moved to Portland and soon purchased the home that they would live in the majority of their lives. A few months later they welcomed their third son Matt and the house was full. Linda loved being a mom and supported her sons’ activities by volunteering with cub scouts, boy scouts, and brownies and supporting little league baseball, PAL football, and Marshall Babe Ruth baseball. Linda loved learning and was good at math her entire life. She attended Mt Hood Community College and was a good accountant for Orval’s business endeavors. To help support the family she worked in the jewelry department at Lipman’s Eastport Plaza. She enjoyed people and loved trying something new. She later worked as a production seamstress making purses and then as a production operator at Hewlett-Packard in Vancouver assembling printers. Before retiring she worked at Jana’s Java, a Mobile Coffee Cart at Clark College which she enjoyed tremendously. Linda was devoted to her family and was incredibly proud of each person’s accomplishments, encouraging each to have fun along the way. She always made sure that holidays, birthdays, and other special events were remembered and celebrated. As daughters-in-law and then grandchildren joined the clan, she welcomed them with open arms and was always willing to give a loving and helping hand when needed. She loved her home and yard, working diligently to keep them in shape. She had a small garden in the back yard where she grew berries to make jam. Her family always knew it was ok to drop by and that coffee or milk and cookies would be waiting. Linda was preceded in death by her husband Orval, her sister Joan and her brother-in-law Delbert. She is survived by her sons: Mark (Joan), Mike, and Matt (Stacy); grandchildren: Joseph Metoxen (Tera), Josh McCallum (Sally), Nick McCallum, Cameron McCallum (Elyssa), Michelle Russell (Scott), and Lindsey McCallum; great-grandchildren: Joseph Jr., Marcus, Aurelia, Callum, and Emma-Jean; siblings & siblings-in-law: Marlene Dallavis and Mark and Patti McCallum; and beloved nephews/nieces, Christopher, Cindy, Darwin, Frank, Candice, Shelly, Jamie, Angie, Carrie, Melinda, and Rick. Funeral services will be held at Willamette National VA Cemetery at 11800 SE Mt. Scott in Portland, Oregon at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, August 14th. Friends and family are welcome to attend. Please arrive by 10:00 to gather. The family would like to thank caregivers Teri McClain and Tanner of T’s Heart Elder Care in Corvallis for opening their home and hearts to Linda and our family over the past months. To honor Linda’s memory the family suggests contributions to https://www.dementiasociety.org/donate

Linda May McCallum

March 20, 1940 - August 5, 2026