SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO : Woman Caught in RV Controversy Dies

Linda Fisher, a 41-year-old amputee and cancer patient who sparked a small controversy because she was living in a recreational vehicle parked in front of her cousin’s home, has died.

Fisher died in the RV on Wednesday night after a 10-year battle with ovarian cancer, a family spokeswoman said.

A memorial service for Fisher will be held at 10 a.m Tuesday at St. Catherine’s Catholic Church in Laguna Beach.

The controversy involving Fisher began last July when two neighbors complained that she was violating the city’s land-use ordinance that prohibits people from living in recreation vehicles in residential areas. The couple said they were concerned that the RV was a potential eyesore that could lower property values in the area.

Fisher contended that the RV was an ideal home for someone with her physical limitations because it allowed her to maneuver and perform her daily tasks.

After receiving the neighbors’ complaint, city officials told Fisher that she could no longer live in the RV. But several San Juan Capistrano residents protested the decision, and the city granted Fisher an extension.

Fisher was 3 years old and living on her parents’ farm in Wisconsin when a hay mower sliced off her left leg. She later moved to California after her ovarian cancer was diagnosed.

Hearing of her plight, the Placentia City Council passed an ordinance allowing people to live in recreational vehicles under certain circumstances.

In an interview last December, Fisher said: “If it wasn’t my turn, I wouldn’t be dying. He (God) must have a good reason for me still being here. It took a lot of hard fighting, and I’ve never given in. So if (my story) will help people in Placentia, then it was a good reason to be around.”