At the Del Mar Community Connections (DMCC) Annual Volunteer Appreciation Event on April 25 Linda Chisari was recognized by the DMCC Board of Directors for her long service and heartfelt dedication as they presented her with the 2025 Volunteer of the Year Award. In addition to the award presented by DMCC, Chisari was presented with a County Proclamation from County Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer’s office and a Certificate of Recognition from California State Senator Catherine Blakespear’s office, according to a news release.
On Monday, June 2, the City of Del Mar is expected to deliver a proclamation in Chisari’s honor at the City Council meeting.
Chisari has been the leader of DMCC’s longest-running activity, Singing Together, for 23 years, and she recently retired from the DMCC Board of Directors, where she served as chair of the Social Good Times Committee for five years. Board member and Tuesday Lunch Connections (TLC) captain Phyllis Mirsky originally nominated Chisari for Volunteer of the Month in September 2024 because Chisari had donated her time and musical talent to play the piano at DMCC’s grant-funded (by the Del Mar Foundation) TLC program for the age 85+ residents of Del Mar.
Mirsky noted in the news release that “Linda’s creativity and commitment to the Del Mar community is reflected in her continuing stewardship of DMCC’s Singing Together Program, which is a wonderful opportunity for neighbors to together in music and fellowship, and the seniorparticipants of TLC were also fortunate to benefit from the joy she spreads!”
Originally from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and later Ridgewood, New Jersey, Chisari attended Mount Holyoke College, where she concentrated on pre-med studies and music. She transferred to Columbia University and graduated with a BS in nursing. She met her husband Frank 57 years ago, when he was a student at Cornell Medical School, and she was a nurse. They fell madly in love while working together at New York Hospital and married six weeks later, then flew to Tanzania for a medical missionary honeymoon.
They moved to Del Mar in 1973 when Frank was recruited to The Scripps Research Institute, where he spent a long career in viral immunology.
Chisari taught piano for 10 years while returning to school to train in ornamental horticulture and landscape design. After deg, constructing, and planting an ornamental edible garden in 1981, it won the grand prize in the landscape division of the Del Mar Fair, launching her into a 35-year career as a landscape designer specializing in gardens that were appropriately drought-tolerant and suitable for the local climate.
Chisari designed 850 residential landscape designs over the course of her impressive career, as described on her website www.lindachisari.com.
In addition to their distinguished professional lives, the Chisaris raised two kids in Del Mar: Josh, who now lives in New York and works in finance, and Jessa, who lives in Los Angeles and works in landscape architecture. They have loved to travel and see the world.
Chisari has also seriously pursued a writing hobby, culminating in her memoir The Magic of Music, which has been beloved by many Del Martians and was once covered in DMCC’s Page Turners author visit book club.
Chisari loves to volunteer because of the opportunity it affords her for meeting people and connecting through common interests. In addition to volunteering for DMCC, she has also volunteered with the Del Mar Garden Club, serving on its board for many years, including as president from 1997-2000. She also served on the City of Del Mar’s Parks and Recreation Committee.
Chisari says in the news release, “I enjoy volunteering with DMCC because I want to give back some of the privilege and happiness with which I have been blessed. I enjoy helping our seniors continue to feel socially engaged while remaining in the homes they love.”
Del Mar Community Connections (DMCC) is an independent 501c3 nonprofit with a mission to and serve the older adults of Del Mar so that they may age independently at home. DMCC helps seniors live active, vibrant lives by providing transportation, education, and social activities. DMCC depends on the dedication of hardworking volunteers like Chisari to maintain an activity calendar with plenty of opportunities for seniors to stay active and engaged.
To learn more about Singing Together or any other DMCC activities, visit www.dmcc.cc/calendar. To learn more about Chisari or serving the older adults of the community by volunteering for DMCC, visit dmcc.cc/volunteerofthemonth.
