When Linda would walk into a room, everyone would know it. It wasn’t that she would swing the doors open in dramatic fashion. It was that she stood out without even trying to. Yes, she had a sense of fashion that was all her own, but it was her personality that drew everyone’s attention. She was warm and giving with a smile that would draw people in and make them feel welcome. Her energy was upbeat and contagious. People wanted to get close to her. They wanted to know her and have her as a friend because it felt good to be around her. She could embrace people without even having to put her arms around them. Her eyes held so much love. When she would look at someone she cared about, that love would pass through to them.
Ask people about Linda and you will hear the same words being shared by most of them: loving, caring, generous, kind, and supportive. She was someone who nurtured. She nurtured her family and her friendships. Linda was the type of person who couldn’t lie down to rest at night until she knew that those she loved were alright. Whether that meant checking up on a friend who was going through a hard time or driving her family crazy with frequent phone calls and a need to know their schedules. Linda may have come across as a worrywart at times, but all those calls and inquiries were her acts of love. They weren’t for nothing. If you needed her shoulder or listening ear, she would give without hesitation. And that sort of love and interest in others made a lasting impression.
Linda was a light in the world. Her passing does not extinguish that light. It goes on in the warmth people feel as they remember her. As they share their stories about her. As all the children she spent time with over the years grow up and recall her place in their childhood memories. People will feel the glow she left behind as they come across gifts she gave them over the years or as shopping trips are remembered. The absence of her will be felt too. Her loved ones will feel it in the silence of the phone not ringing. They will feel it in the future holidays without her lovingly set table and decorations. But in those moments of feeling the void she left behind, remembering her smile and the way she made them feel, will bring that light back. Linda will live on in the hearts of those who knew her, and that is the place where she wanted to be the most.
Linda came into this world on August 2, 1949 in San Pedro, California. She left it on October 19, 2023 at her home in Temecula after being diagnosed with uterine cancer. She will be buried at Riverside National Cemetery. She is survived by her husband, her two sons, and her grandson. She has gone to Heaven to be reunited with her parents and sisters.
If you look to the sky one night and see a star brighter than all the rest, it is probably Linda and her mother dressed in head-to-toe gold outfits, keeping watch over everyone.
Funeral arrangements were entrusted to England Family Mortuary, Inc.
Dear Menyard, Greg and Steve so sorry of the passing of my long time friend Linda. Sorry not being able to attend her services but due to the recent passing of my son I was not up to attending another funeral so soon. Your eulogy of Linda fits her to a tee. Always caring and giving and loving. Although with her move to Temecula we did not see much of each other but I’m glad in 2020 we got together in Long Beach and were able to catch up on things. Linda always talked lovingly about her boys and that includes you Menyard. All will indeed miss Linda she really was a special lady. RIP “Peanut” and God Bless.
