Dear Billy, David, Dan, & Beth,

I was so saddened to learn of Linda's illness and death last week.

Growing up, I always thought Linda was such a lucky, lucky girl---to have a sweet golden Cocker Spaniel named Taffy, to live in a house with two stories, to grow up on a farm with a family gas pump right out by the driveway, to have her very own great big black horse named "Boy", to get to ride the school bus to and from school everyday, and to have a big brother Billy who was a whiz on the drums!

What a treat it was to be invited to go up to Duncan with 2 or 3 of Linda's friends to spend a couple of nights on the weekend.

Mr. and Mrs. Hardin always fixed us a huge dinner and breakfast, which we ate in their dining room, as they entertained us with such wonderful stories! One that stands out was when Mrs. Hardin had worked for days cleaning up the house & preparing festive food for a holiday party one evening. Everything was perfect and the food was spread out on the new Christmas tablecloth.

Minutes before the first guests started arriving, Mrs. Hardin dashed upstairs to powder her nose and to get dressed, only to come back down to find the family cat in the middle of the table, chowing down on her big bowl of shrimp salad!

On one overnight jaunt, when the house settled down & we'd all gone to bed, one of us had the bright idea of slipping out to the barn to ride the horses. We decided to crawl out the bedroom window. Why we didn't just go out the front door instead is anyone's guess! After an hour or so, we all climbed back in through the window.

On another trip, we got carried away with an impromptu late night cantata, singing "You'll Never Walk Alone", which our choir teacher Mrs. Clint Greer had drilled into us for the Choral Festival in Jackson. About 2 o'clock in the morning, we came out of the 2 downstairs bedrooms with short stubby little candles lit, ascending the stairs by candlelight. We were getting into an emotional, quite inspirational realm as we approached the 2nd floor. Getting to a most moving rendition of the chorus of

"WALK ON, WALK ON, WITH HOPE IN YOUR HEART"
when Linda's daddy came stomping out of their bedroom, yelling,
"HOW ABOUT WALKING RIGHT ON BACK DOWN THOSE STEPS & SHUTTING UP, SO WE CAN GET SOME SLEEP AROUND HERE! IT'S THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT!"

Linda rode her beloved horse Boy along Highway 61 to Shelby several times to spend the night. Every kid in town got a turn to ride Boy around the block. Linda and her classmate Rives Neblett were the only ones lucky enough to have their very own horses! On one such trip, we woke up to find Boy had "flown the coop" during the night. Guess he got homesick, broke loose, & headed on back home to Duncan all by himself!

Even though I hadn't seen Linda and David since they came back to the first big Shelby High School reunion in Cleveland in 1999, I loved Linda and have always considered her a treasured friend.

Please know how much so many of her old chums from school will miss her---just as we still miss her precious parents!

With much love & deepest sympathy
to your whole family,

Like Susan Hall Thompson, I, too, have very fond memories of Linda from sixth grade in Shelby through high school graduation. We worked together on school projects like the school newspaper which she edited, attended events together, and enjoyed each other's company. One thing I remember was, instead of going to a dance as planned, we went to the drive-in theatre after the ticket booth had closed and enjoyed a free movie.
My condolences to Linda's family and friends.
Linda will be rembered.

Some of my fondest childhood memories are those with Linda.  Spending the night at her home out from Duncan included such treats as listening to her brother Billy on the drums, being teased by her father & mother, & --especially-- getting to ride Boy, the best horse that ever lived!  She even had a carriage that we all piled into for rides!  She was always so generous & patient with her "city slicker" friends.

I am so very sorry to hear of your wife's passing.  May God bless you & your family.

Clara Abernathy (W.B. Abernathy's wife)

Dan, we are so sorry to hear of your mother's passing.  You & your family will be in our prayers.


                                                                   
Debbie & Eric Shepherd

Sorry to hear of your loss, your friend "Ed" Edmondson

Our thoughts and prayers are with your family during this most difficult time and our heartfelt sympathies reach out to you.

We are saddened by her death, but rejoicing with her home going. Linda was a very special lady who loved The Lord.

OBITUARY

Linda Hardin Grabensteder

January 24, 1944 – July 22, 2014

Owen Funeral Home

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