Linda Bebko was born in Erie, Pennsylvania, and graduated from Villa Maria Academy in 1964. She attended the Erie Business Academy from 1964 to 1965. Prior to elective office, she spent time working as an alcohol and drug counselor and said that she had been an alcoholic herself in the past. Later on, she was director of Women Against Sexual Harassment from 1989 to 1992 and a caseworker for Community House for Women from 1990 to 1991. Her career in politics began with a stint as an administrative assistant for Pennsylvania State Senator A. Buzz Andrezeski from 1984 to 1989, moving on to become a caseworker for former United States Senator Harris Wofford in 1990. Her husband, Tom Jones, died in 2001 after a bout with throat and neck cancer. She died on November 20, 2011, aged 65.
