Obituaries : * Linda Musella; Principal of Conejo School

Linda Musella, principal of Conejo School, died Saturday at her Thousand Oaks home after a long battle with cancer. She was 53.

She was born Oct. 28, 1942, in Riverside.

Musella graduated from Riverside Polytechnic High School in 1960. She received her bachelor’s degree in 1964 from UC Santa Barbara.

She joined the Conejo Valley Unified School District in 1965 as a fourth-grade teacher at Walnut School in Newbury Park.

Musella also taught at two other district schools before becoming principal of Glenwood School in Thousand Oaks in 1980. She held several other administrative posts in the district, becoming principal at Conejo in 1991.

Barbara Ryan, the district’s director of elementary education, joined the school district the same year as Musella and remembers her as an outstanding administrator and teacher.

“Her staffs at her schools absolutely adored her,” Ryan said, adding that Musella had an innate talent for training teachers. “I think people recognized she had a real understanding of curriculum and instruction.”

Musella, whose hobbies included tole painting, often combined her love of arts and crafts with academics, Ryan said.

“Linda was personally a very creative, craftsy person and carried that to all of her positions,” she said. “Most recently, at Conejo Elementary School she used to do art projects with all of the students.”

Robert Marsella said his wife of 31 years loved to entertain and make gifts for her friends.

“She always felt that the gift someone made was so much better than what someone went out to a store and bought,” he said.

Musella was a member of the American Assn. of University Women.

In addition to her husband, survivors include her parents, Helen and Ray Carlson, also of Thousand Oaks, and son Donald Musella of Valencia.

A graveside service will be held at 3:30 p.m. today at Valley Oaks Memorial Park in Westlake Village.

Memorial contributions may be sent to the Bowyer Multidisciplinary Oncology Clinic, UCLA, 10833 Le Conte Ave., Los Angeles, Calif. 90024.

Banks, Abraham, 73, of Camarillo, retired small businessman. Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks Mortuary, Thousand Oaks.

Dannenbrink, Thomas D., 86, of Thousand Oaks, retired deputy general manager with the Los Angeles Department of Airports. Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks Mortuary, Westlake Village.

De la Torre, George Joseph, 43, of Ventura, meat cutter. Guardian Memorial Funeral Directors & Crematory, Ventura.

Eggleston, Alice S., 86, of Ventura, retired tour guide. Ted Mayr Funeral Home, Ventura.

Hager, Andrea Lucille, 62, of Thousand Oaks, homemaker. Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks Mortuary, Thousand Oaks.

Kloppenburg, Walter, 45, of Camarillo, financial controller. Conejo Mountain Memorial Park and Funeral Home, Camarillo.

Lutz, Lisette, 52, accounting clerk with the Conejo Valley Unified School District. Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks Mortuary, Westlake Village.

MacGarvey, Edward R., 69, of Oxnard, retired computer analyst. Conejo Mountain Memorial Park and Funeral Home.

Oberson, Marjorie, 82, of Simi Valley, retired bookkeeper. Sunset Plan, Westlake Village.

Sweetland, Alexandra, 90, of Ventura, homemaker. Ted Mayr Funeral Home, Ventura.

Young, Doris Jean, 57, of Ojai, homemaker. Guardian Memorial Funeral Directors & Crematory, Ventura.

Ventura County obituaries are published free of charge as a public service to readers. Obituaries are based on information provided by cooperating mortuaries.