It is with sadness that I report the death of Linda Stevens, RN. Linda had been in poor health for some time, having suffered a couple of strokes I believe, the most recent that I knew of was in the spring. At KHS Linda and I did not know one another particularly, perhaps had gym together, but had become pals through our reunion activities and of course through the proliferation of internet tools. She knew I was involved in several lineage societies through my genealogy work and asked to join one of them. She was SO proud of her very thorough work on her family tree, and of course of her career as an Army nurse. Many years ago she discovered she had lost her KHS class ring and was desolate. Through my contacts both on-line and through our reunion activities, I found a classmate who wanted to dispose of hers, it was a great match-up!!! Linda was so appreciative, she never forgot and thanked me often; it was an easy thing to do for someone who was so thoughtful and so wanting that ring! Below, with appreciation to our classmate Lois Lindley, is her obituary:
https://www.osfuneralhomes.com/obituary/linda-stevens
January 28, 1947 - November 10, 2024
Linda Lou Stevens was born on January 28, 1947 to Betty Gault Stevens and Edward Roy Stevens, and died on November 10, 2024 at the age of 77 years. She was the oldest of 3 kids, having 2 brothers Edward and David.
She graduated from Kirkwood High School in 1965 and attended Deaconess School of Nursing, graduating in 1969. Later in life, she received her BSN from Phoenix University. As a young nurse, Linda joined the Army working in New York with wounded soldiers returning from Vietnam. She was very proud of her military service and after she left the Army she became a Reserve Police Officer. She continued her nursing career after the Army, specializing in cardiac care. She is survived by her wife Lydia McVeigh and her brother Edward Stevens. She was preceded in death by her mother, father, brother David and wife Billie Walker.
Linda was a devoted lover of animals, having had many pets throughout
her life, including a duck, a pot-bellied pig, turtles, birds and
several dogs and cats. She was a strong advocate of animal and child
welfare causes. Linda was an avid collector of autographed photos of
actors, sports figures and people of note including the Queen of
England. She researched and published a genealogy of her family back to
Robert the Bruce King of Scotland. To honor her New England roots, she was a member of Three Flags Colony, National Society of New England Women [and I believe also of the Daughters of the American Revolution, lvr].
Funeral procession leaving from the Ortmann Funeral Home, 9222 Lackland Rd., Overland, Thursday, November 21 at 9:15 a.m. to Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery for 10:00 a.m. Cemetery service with Military Honors.
Linda was a dear friend in high school and we continued our friendship through Facebook. I so enjoyed her artwork. I respected her commitment to her country and her dedication to being true to her own beliefs. Is with great sadness that I hear of her passing.
ReplyDeleteThanks for adding your thoughts, she was indeed one cool gal!
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