Linda Brown Marine

Our beloved mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, and dear friend to so many passed away peacefully in the arms of her four children and surrounded by family at her home in Murray Utah, as was her wish, on August 13, 2024. Linda’s life began on May 6, 1940 in Salt Lake City, Utah, the youngest of two daughters born to Gladys and Joseph Marine. Her early life was spent in love and laughter with her cherished sister and best friend, Kay (Johnson), taking family trips to enjoy the beauty of Utah and surrounding states, and forming forever friendships with Jeanne Beesley Duffin and Sandy Nesbitt Newman from her childhood Sugar House Park neighborhood. She graduated from South High School, was awarded Miss Joyce Janzten, a coveted ZCMI Department Store fashion contest accolade as a junior, and later graduated from Boise Junior College. For more than four decades, Linda worked in banking and sales for U.S. Steel and Geneva Steel, among other industries.

Always up for fun and a good time with friends and family, Linda was known for her outgoing and personable nature from an early age. In junior high school, she was named dance champion alongside her future husband and fellow class officer (Linda as President), Bion T. Wilcox. Linda and Bion were married from 1962-1969, welcoming and raising two sons and two daughters with love in Midvale, Utah. In 1983, she married Victor J. Wager and moved to Murray, Utah, forging more close friendships, traveling, skiing the slopes of Alta, and spending time at their Flaming Gorge cabin until his death in 2018. She took immense pride in her home, tiring endlessly over her garden and prized flowers, earning her the Murray City Beautification Award in 1989.  

As a working single mother, she gave her everything to love and care for her four children throughout their lives. From doctor and dentist appointments and parent teacher conferences, to football, basketball and baseball games, dance recitals, proms, graduations and more, Linda was their constant. She loved each child, grandchild, and all her many friends and family members unconditionally, standing by them in the most comforting of ways during challenging times, and shouting the loudest in celebration of their wins. Perfection was never Linda’s mantra; instead, she instilled hard work, resilience, forgiveness and strength in her children as they carried forward in their own lives. She made a point to ensure that everyone she loved knew that they mattered and were special to her in every way.

Linda’s children and grandchildren, her sister and brother-in-law, her nieces and their children, and her many friends were the center of her life and her pride and joy. She relished the opportunity to share stories, laughs, great music and adventures with them, celebrate birthdays and holidays together (including German pancakes as a treat), and honor each of them in her own special way. She was steadfast in her independence and cherished her time gardening and bird watching, playing bridge with life-long friends, visits to California to see her sons and three grandchildren, to Chicago and Michigan for time with her daughter and four granddaughters, and many memories in Salt Lake with her youngest daughter and twin granddaughters, who affectionately named her “Maga” as young toddlers because they couldn’t say “Grandma”.

Linda will be deeply missed by her family and friends, especially the loves of her life: her sons Darin Scott (Stephanie) Wilcox of Midway, Utah and Bion Jeffrey (Suzanne) Wilcox of Draper, Utah; her two daughters Lisa Wilcox (Curt) Bailey of Chicago, Illinois and Angela Wilcox of Salt Lake City, Utah; her beloved grandchildren, Ava and Caroline Wilcox of Salt Lake City, Utah; Lydia, Margaux, Elise and Laine of Chicago, Illinois; Taylor, Madison and Jordan of Dallas, Texas and Corbin of Salt Lake City, Utah; her sister Kay (Gary) Johnson of Holladay, Utah; and three nieces and their families, Denise Swope, Christy Hughes and Suzanne Johnson. 

A celebration of Linda’s life will take place on Sunday, September 15, 2024 at 11:00 am at the Orangerie at Red Butte Garden.  She will be laid to rest at Mount Calvary Catholic Cemetery in Salt Lake City alongside her deceased parents, Joseph Albert and Gladys Brown Marine in a private ceremony with family. Linda’s family extends sincere gratitude to her loving neighbors who helped look after her in her later years, ensuring she was safe, well-fed and never alone. She was very grateful for your kindness and friendship.

In lieu of flowers, look above to envision Linda flying free like a bird, her favorite animal, in the flutter of a butterfly’s wings, in the scent of a flower or tree, and in the songs of Neil Diamond, Seals and Crofts, Bread, Fleetwood Mac and Joni Mitchell. Or, consider honoring Linda through Tracy Aviary (https://tracyaviary.org), a non-profit supporting the curiosity, care and conservation of birds and their habitats in Utah since 1938.