Linda Ronstadt

Our musical heritage

Author: Stephen Brigham

Before Linda went on to international fame, her childhood home was in RillitoBend. Her grandparent’s ranch was in our neighborhood.  Frederick A. Ronstadt and his second wife Lupe (Dalton) Ronstadt lived out most of their lives at this ranch which was an 80-acre ranch located at the northwest corner of Prince Road and Tucson Boulevard.

 

Frederick and Lupe had four sons, including Gilbert who was the father of Tucson’s very famous singer, Linda Ronstadt.

Linda (in the center) with her parents, siblings and grandparents (Frederick and Lupe during a backyard cookout on the Ronstadt Ranch in RillitoBend
Linda on her “horse” with her sister Gretchen, brother Peter and parents Gilbert and Ruth Mary (née Copeman) Ronstadt

Gilbert and his brother Edward ran the family’s downtown business, The F. Ronstadt Hardware Company (demolished in 1991 and replaced by the “Ronstadt Transit Center”).

Linda Ronstadt at her family’s downtown hardware store

Although portions of the Ronstadt ranch were sold off, RillitoBend was Linda’s childhood home before she went on to international fame.