A public memorial gathering in honor of SCV political aide and community leader Linda Lambourne, has been set for Saturday, April 21, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Sand Canyon Country Club, according to her daughter, Angi McDuffie.

The longtime aide to U.S. Representative Howard P. “Buck” McKeon and Assemblyman Scott Wilk succumbed Friday morning to ALS after a two-year battle, her daughter said in a Facebook post that evening.

“For those who weren’t aware, my mother has been suffering with ALS for almost 2 years,” McDuffie wrote. “Early this morning she passed away. We are grateful to everyone in the community that helped our family through the progression of her disease. She was fortunate to have so many people who admired and loved her. We will miss her but are relieved she is no longer suffering.”

Lambourne (pictured above with her husband Steve in October 1999) was chief assistant to Wilk when he served as District Director for McKeon. Wilk appointed her his District Director when he was elected to the Assembly in 2012.

“She was an amazing, gracious, very intelligent, sophisticated lady, and she represented the legislators well,” said Santa Clarita Mayor Laurene Weste, a longtime friend of Lambourne.

“She went to all the meetings and was always helpful to the constituents,” Weste said. “She worked with other ladies who worked for different legislators. They called themselves ‘The Legisladies’ and used to march in the (Fourth of July) parade. She was so proud to be able to serve our community and get people the assistance they needed. And she was very proud of her work.”

Linda Lambourne (left) and Assemblyman Scott Wilk (right). Photo: Facebook/Vanessa Wilk

Weste said Lambourne was a key player in the city’s bid to block Cemex from mining in Soledad Canyon.

“She worked for McKeon for a very long time, and very diligently did a lot of work on the Cemex issue, and other issues that had a great impact on the whole community,” Weste said. “Every single (local) issue, she took to her boss. She was a stalwart in support of the Santa Clarita Valley community.

Weste also lauded Lambourne’s role in developing Santa Clarita’s trail system.

“She was on the original trail committee, and was a big supporter of our trails,” Weste said. “She had horses. She helped do work in mapping and all of that. There were several people who worked on it, and I was sort of the lead. She was so excited to assist us in creating our comprehensive trail system, which is so rare in the nation. She was also supportive of our open space efforts. This was a lady who loved nature.

“It’s a terrible loss,” Weste said. “She was a good friend, and I really admired her. And she was a great mom.”

The Sand Canyon Country Club is located at 27734 Sand Canyon Rd., Santa Clarita CA 91387.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in Linda Lambourne’s name to the ALS Association at alsa.org.