Linda Lee (Pierce) Rogers

03-17-1945/ 04-05-2025

Linda Pierce Rogers arrived 2 months premature on March 17th, 1948, in Turlock, Calif. weighing only 3 pounds 11 ounces. Three minutes later her twin sister, Londa, joined her in this world. The nurse passed their dad in the waiting room carrying two babies and turned to him and said, “How would you like to have twins?” Their Dad turned to his parents and said, “Was she talking to me?” It was a shock to both he and his parents because they had not been told that they were going to be parents of twins!

Linda grew up in the country on a farm in Livingston, she loved it there. It was 120 acres of grapes, surrounded by walnut trees. Living next door were her wonderful grandparents, Mimi and Bompa and her Aunt Patty. When Linda was 4 years old, her younger sister, Betty, was born. No matter where she lived throughout her life, when she would travel back to the farm to visit her mom and dad she would always say, “I’m going home.”

Linda’s fond memories of “home” were running up and down the rows of grapes during irrigating time and splashing water on her sisters, or riding in the back of her dad’s pickup at 8:00 in the evening while he checked the water, and then he would head to the canal, and they would all go swimming. The big holiday gatherings with her family were some of her most cherished memories- on Christmas she would wake up her folks before daylight to open presents, then they would all head next door to their grandparents’ house and have fun watching everyone opening their gifts. In the afternoon they would all gather around the dinner table for a wonderful Christmas dinner and afterward have a taffy pull. At Easter, the families would gather again for homemade ice cream, Easter egg hunts and a great dinner afterwards. Her parents would hide their Easter baskets, and a big chocolate bunny- Linda would always go for the bunny’s ears first. The 4th of July festivities included homemade ice cream, a BBQ and fireworks. Linda laughed at the time their dad nailed a spinning wheel fire work to a tree, lit it and it spun off the tree and chased their dad across the yard. It had the family laughing so hard.

In August she enjoyed camping trips with her family, they started camping at Deer Creek up near Mt. Lassen, with her mom’s side of the family, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. When Linda was a teenager, the folks heard of a nice place called Kennedy Meadows, once they experienced this special place they made it the official family spot to camp for 6 decades. One year in her teens she experienced a movie being made there called Mail Order Bride, unaware she and her twin went strolling through a scene and were yelled at to ‘Get out of the Way!’ by the producer. She also got Buddy Epson and Jerry Mathew’s autograph while they were filming the movie. Her dad taught Linda and her sisters how to fish-clean them, gather wood and build a campfire, how to cook outdoors, and how to pack for a long hike. She enjoyed singing around the campfire, the smell of the pine trees and the beautiful stars at night. She and her twin returned almost every year, just the two of them long into their retirement.

Linda went to Livingston grammar school and graduated from Livingston High School, class of 1966. In junior-high she was a majorette and played the clarinet (first chair); in high school she was a letteret. After graduation, she moved to Sacramento and lived with her twin Londa and her cousin Sherri and went to Heald Business College where she learned to be a keypunch operator. This was when the data processing business was just beginning. She punched information in that would punch holes in cards and then the cards were put through a computer, and it would read the information and print out the report. She completed the course with an A.

Linda then moved to Piedmont, in the Bay Area, with her twin Londa and they shared an apartment together and both got jobs in San Francisco working for Metropolitan Life Insurance. After about a year, they both moved to Alameda and again shared an apartment. Linda loved sitting on the beach in the evening and watching the waves come in. It was relaxing for her after work.

Linda married Stan Tacheira in 1969, and they had two daughters, Regina and Katherine. They made their home in Oakley, CA. They divorced in 1976, though also remaining lifelong friends to the end. Being a single parent, she worked hard to make a life for her girls. Her first move was to Durham, CA where she worked at Chico State in data processing. Two years later she moved back to the valley to be closer to family. She settled in Delhi where she worked as an instructional aide at Schendel Elementary school. Yet again, Linda and Londa lived only a couple of houses from each other.

Later she married Gene Rogers, and she gained two stepsons Daniel and Joshua. Linda and Gene and the four children moved to Turlock and Linda kept her job at Schendel school. Gene got a job offer in Westwood, CA., a small mountain town a couple of years later and when Londa’s husband retired, they of course moved to Westwood across the street from Linda and Gene. Linda loved this town; besides Livingston, this was her favorite place to live. Every time it snowed, you could find her looking out her front window and waving to Londa who was also at her window watching it snow. Then Gene took her to Oregon where Gene had a job offer and later had his own welding shop. Linda and Gene’s final move was back to Livingston when Linda’s dad was ready to retire. Gene and Londa’s husband, Randall, were asked to take over running the farm. Londa’s husband passed away in April 2017 and Linda’s husband passed away in June 2017. This left just Linda, Londa and their dad living in separate homes on the farm. Their dad sold the farm with the stipulation that the three of them could live there for the rest of their lives. Then their dad passed in 2019, Linda and her twin decided to move to Manteca near Londa’s daughter Kerry and her husband Brian and son Brenden. Linda and Londa again shared a home together until her passing.

Sadly, the two of them shared only 5 1/2 years living together when God called Linda home on April 5th, 2025; she left us too soon. After a couple of months of having tests and procedures done, she was diagnosed with cancer in March and in less than two weeks she passed away at Kaiser hospital in Modesto in the arms of her twin Londa.

Linda was a loving, giving soul. She was always there for her daughters, stepsons, grandchildren and great grandchildren. She raised her granddaughter Chelsie, she took care of her husband in their home until he passed away, she cared for her grandfather in his home until he passed away at the age of 100, and she helped take care of her mom and dad until they each passed away in their home. And when her twin had many surgeries done over the years, Linda was always by her side taking care of her. When Linda became ill, you never heard her complain. She was a strong, amazing lady who gave selflessly of herself to many.

Linda is survived by her daughters: Regina (Tacheira) Gross (Sean) and Katherine Tacheira, grandchildren: Vincent Reynoso, Devan (Gross) Nichols (Dan), Connor Gross (Liz), Chelsie Hedrick-Avalos, Trinity Tacheira Gross, Brittany Miranda, Zachary Miranda and 12 Great-grandchildren. Sisters: Londa (Pierce) Groover, Betty (Pierce) Ghiggia. Nieces & nephews: Clint Ghiggia, Kerry Collier-Johnson (Brian), Kimberly (Ghiggia) Thorn (Michael), Cody Ghiggia.

She was preceded in death by her parents: Maynard (Jerry) & Pauline Pierce, husband Gene Rogers and grand-daughter Keyonna Tacheira.

Fly high with the angels and enjoy heaven with family. You were and always will be an angel to us. Know that you touched us all when you were here, and we will love and miss you until we are together with you again in Heaven.

A Celebration of Life will be held at Ravellos Event Center in Merced, CA on May 10th, 11am. 

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