Linda Potter Acredolo

Linda Potter Acredolo, 78, passed away unexpectedly on June 12, 2026, while enjoying a beautiful day outdoors with her husband, Larry.

Linda was born the youngest of three sisters in Buffalo, New York. There she delighted in sponge candy and ice cream sundaes from the historic Parkside Candy, and would often walk down the block from her house to grab a donut from a nearby shop. She spent summers bonding with her sisters and family in Allegany State Park, singing songs and playing games around the campfire.

After graduating Phi Beta Kappa from Bucknell University, she applied for graduate school at the University of Minnesota. During the application process, she made a mistake that would shift the course of her life forever. She intended to apply to the "clinical" psychology program, but mistakenly checked the box for "developmental" instead. It proved to be a happy accident, as she discovered her true passion: working with children.

She joined her then-husband, Curt Acredolo, in moving to the West Coast, where they both became professors at the University of California, Davis. After witnessing her twelve-month-old daughter Kate use a blowing gesture to communicate about fish she saw in a doctor’s office aquarium, Linda teamed up with her former graduate student and best friend Susan Goodwyn to study whether babies could intentionally learn to communicate through signs. Their research would go on to help millions of parents around the world develop stronger bonds with their babies, a legacy that will continue for generations to come.

The two of them wrote three books together, Baby Signs, Baby Minds, and Baby Hearts. They also co-founded Baby Signs, Inc., which trained independent instructors worldwide to teach parents how to communicate with their infants before they could speak.

After her retirement, she enjoyed spending time with her husband playing golf, kayaking, and watching British dramas together. Dogs were a constant presence throughout her life, and her latest companion, Tilly, hardly ever left her side. Linda treasured having weekly lunches with her son, was never far from an active jigsaw puzzle or an audiobook, and expressed her creativity through sketching, poetry, mosaics, and painting. During the holiday season, she would craft wintergreen chocolates, a family recipe she’d loved since childhood, and would hoard pints of peppermint ice cream before they disappeared from the shelves for the year. She loved any opportunity to spoil and spend time with her step-grandchildren, and she found joy, friendships, and a new love for Zumba classes at her retirement community in Natomas.

She is survived by her husband, Larry Stark, her son, Kai Acredolo, her daughter, Kate Acredolo, and a wealth of stepchildren, step-grandchildren, nieces, and nephews. She was preceded in death by her sisters, Nancy Potter Wheatley and Judith Lorraine Quarles, and her former husband, Curtis Ray Acredolo.

A celebration of Linda's life will be announced at a later date.

A further tribute can be found on the Baby Signs website at https://babysigns.com/remembering-dr-linda-acredolo/