OGDEN — Noted Utah journalist and author Linda Sillitoe died Wednesday at age 61 after a long illness.
Sillitoe was known for her coverage and subsequent book about the "Mormon forgery murders" of 1985.
Former Deseret News feature editor Don Woodward supervised Sillitoe's work at the paper during the 1980s and called her a "strong member" of the journalistic tradition.
"She was a very good writer and researcher, often not a common combination," he said. "She was very highly regarded."
Sillitoe's co-workers recalled her effective reporting style.
"I was always impressed by how dogged she was," says Deseret News reporter Elaine Jarvik, who worked with Sillitoe. "She would always dig in really deep. And she was always sincerely interested in her subjects but detached enough to see their flaws."
As a reporter, Sillitoe "helped our readers understand," said former Deseret News associate city editor Ray Boren. He remembers her as "quiet but very confident and very bright."
Working at the Deseret News and Utah Holiday magazine, Sillitoe also wrote for national publications such as The New York Times.
Born in 1948, Sillitoe was already an award-winning writer when she graduated from South High School and the University of Utah.
As an author, Sillitoe wrote eight books, including fiction and poetry.
Her book "Salamander: The Story of the Mormon Forgery Murders," which she co-authored with Allen Roberts, chronicled the Mark Hofmann bombings in Salt Lake City in 1985 that killed two people and garnered national attention. The murders eventually exposed Hofmann's documents, said to undermine the early history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as forgeries.
Sillitoe's research interests included native tribes and cultures.
She shared her journalistic skills with students as a teacher at the University of Utah, Salt Lake Community College and Weber State University, and her work continues to inspire writers today.
Although she never worked with Sillitoe, current Deseret News feature editor Angelyn Hutchinson said she "greatly admires" her.
"She was a writer par excellence," Hutchinson said. "She had a way with words that pulled you into the stories."
Most recently, Sillitoe worked as the public outreach coordinator for the Stewart Library at WSU.
She is survived by her husband, John Sillito (spelling difference intentional), three children and two grandchildren.
e-mail: jsmith@desnews.com