'Living human angel': Linda Frankel, Diane Sawyer's sister, dies at 79

Linda Sawyer Frankel, the sister of broadcast legend Diane Sawyer and daughter of the late Jefferson County attorney Erbon Powers "Tom" Sawyer, died on Jan. 18, her family confirmed.

She would have turned 80 this week. She was described by her friends and loved ones as a role model, kind, caring, generous, brilliant and talented.

"I had the most impossible thing: I had an older sister who took care of me, protected me, took me with her and let me annoy all of her friends ― always watch out for me through my whole life," Diane Sawyer told The Courier Journal. "And, really, how many people really get that kind of living human angel who cares only (about) your happiness?"

Frankel was born in 1943 and was raised in Louisville. And although she lived in many places ― Massachusetts for college, New York, Florida, California and Connecticut — her oldest son, Davey, said she was very connected to Louisville.

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Frankel wore many hats throughout her life. She worked as the fashion editor for Vogue in New York, and she was the head of marketing for Burdines in Miami.

"My mom brought her savvy and experience in the fashion editorial worlds from Vogue and really merged that into ready-to-wear fashion retail advertising. And she was one of the first people to start using top models and photographers and creating quarterlies to make fashion advertising for retail and for ready-to-wear," her son said.

Frankel was a ballet dancer, she played the piano — her teacher wanted her to be a concert pianist — and she was crowned Miss Kentucky in 1964.

But aside from her professional and artistic accomplishments, she was also a mom, a wife, a daughter, a sister, a grandmother and a friend. She is survived by her husband of more than 50 years, David Frankel, her sister Diane, her two sons Davey and Gregory, and her four grandchildren — June, Vince, Ryder and Jasper.

Frankel also was a "vital force" in the Sawyer Hayes Community Center, located in Louisville's E.P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park, which was named after their father, and she wanted to make it an ideal place for families to spend time together, Diane Sawyer said.

She said Frankel was always keen to helping people, whether it was helping the community through her Miss Kentucky duties or helping her family.

"There was nothing she couldn't do, and what are the odds that you have someone gifted luminous and absolutely kind," Sawyer said.

There will be a private service for friends and family in Florida, where Frankel spent many years of her life. But, although it has not been planned, Davey Frankel said they are hoping to do a memorial in Louisville, since she loved it very much, and for her to be connected to her roots.

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Reach Ana Alvarez Briñez at abrinez@gannett.com; follow her on Twitter @SoyAnaAlvarez.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Linda Frankel, sister to broadcaster Diane Sawyer, dies at 79