Linda Schäpper, an American artist and author, and decades-long resident of Orlando, passed away on May 27, 2025. Renowned for her contributions to folk and liturgical art, her multi-faceted creative repertoire spanned various media, including patchwork quilts, crochet, painting, and the design of liturgical tapestries, banners, and vestments. Distinguished by its vibrant folk-art and spiritual themes, her work reflected her deep commitment to storytelling through art.
Throughout her career, Linda showed numerous exhibitions of her patchwork quilts worldwide, including being the first woman to display her tapestries in a museum in the USSR. Her literary contributions include eight books, four of which focus on crochet.
Her most notable work, the Family of Christ tapestry, a 55-foot appliqué fabric piece, served as backdrop for Pope John Paul II’s 1995 Mass in New York City’s Central Park. Another significant piece, Nativity, selected as a UNICEF Christmas cards in 1998, further cemented her influence in religious and folk art circles. After a 15-year hiatus from painting, prompted by the turmoil she witnessed while living in Lebanon during its civil war, Linda resumed her artistic pursuits. Her prolific creativity produced hundreds of paintings exploring sacred and historical themes. Her works are featured in various public spaces, including panels depicting regional history at the Orange County Courthouse in Florida.
As Linda became sicker and her cancer took its toll, her strongest concern centered on her remaining artwork in her possession. Her strongest instinct persisted that it might survive and that each of her creations find a final home. Lifelong friends and supporters, Reverend Paul Coury and Reverend Thomas Santa, discussed her concerns and plans. Together, with Linda‘s blessings, all of her creative work has been transferred upon her death to Liguori publications, a Catholic publishing house In Ligouri, Missouri. Liguori, grateful for this gift, will catalog and inventory all of her created pieces and make them available to religious communities and individuals as Linda requested. For more information please copy and paste the following links into your web browser : http://www.lindaschapperartlegacy.com/, and: https://www.compassionatecremationsinc.com/obituaries/obituary-listings
Linda was a graduate of Michigan State University in Political Science. She was preceded in death by her parents, Paul G LaVasseur and Mary Jean (Newman) LaVasseur. Linda is survived by her siblings Christine Helrigel (Gary) of Tennessee, Anne R. LaVasseur, Paul G. LaVasseur II, and David A. LaVasseur (Cathy) of Michigan.
Her art was her purpose and her life. May her memory be a blessing.
