Linda Williams Darden

At 56 years young, Linda Darden passed away Wednesday, August 17, 2016. She lost her battle with Frontotemporal Degeneration but not without a hard fight and a beautiful life that touched so many. Linda was truly one of a kind. She lit up any room she entered. Whether it be her piercing blue-green eyes, her infectious smile, that sweet southern accent, or the kindness and charm that shined so bright in her beautiful personality; she was a magnetic soul. To have known her was to love her. Her life was driven with passion. Passion fueled by love. Love for friends. Love for family. Love for life. She was dedicated and devoted, spontaneous and spirited, carefree and charismatic.

Linda was born to Charles and Phyllis Johnson on November 14th, 1959 in Knoxville, TN. She was the vivacious little sister to the doting big brother, Larry, whom she loved and admired until the day she passed. One of her most favorite things about Larry was singing alongside him as he played the guitar from their teens well into adulthood. Everyone talked about the incredible harmony they had together. Later the Johnson siblings welcomed their baby sister, Debbie, to their duo and then there were three. The day Debbie moved to Dallas was definitely a highlight in Linda's life. Always the big sister, she took Debbie under her wing and helped her find her way living in the “Big D”. You could often find them curled up watching their favorites on TV or at the nail salon getting their regular mani-pedi together on the weekends. Although they were always pretty close growing up, their bond became so much more in the years leading up to her disease and even after when the roles were sadly reversed.

In the mid 70’s, Linda married Donnie Williams, also from Tennessee. A couple years into their marriage, on September 18th, 1975, they welcomed their son, Kevin Wayne into the world. Kevin was the only child of Linda and was without a doubt the light of her life and admittedly, one of her proudest accomplishments. A few years after Kevin was born, Linda and Donnie divorced and Linda became a single mother at a very young age. She was blessed to have her mom’s support as well as help with her son at that time but that too was short lived when her mother passed away in 1982. Fiercely independent, she worked 2 and sometimes 3 jobs to support herself and her son and was never afraid to follow her dreams.

Always looking for a better life and opportunities she made her way to Dallas, TX in 1984. While waiting tables and working as a bartender she put herself through Cosmetology school. In 1988, Linda graduated from the Cosmetology Career Center. This would afford her a life that she became quite proud of and one that would allow her to use her gifts and talent. She had the gift of making people feel beautiful from the inside and this trade coupled that gift with one of making people feel beautiful on the outside too. This endeavor led her to many lasting friendships. From fellow coworkers and colleagues, to clients from all walks of life, she was very successful at what she did and enjoyed her work and the people it brought into her life.

In 1994, Linda would become a doting grandmother to a beautiful blue eyed baby girl, Brittany Austin Williams. Brittany was her "Angel Girl" and only granddaughter. Brittany didn't want for anything. She was the light of her Nana's life. The bond between the two of them remained strong until Linda's passing. No matter what endeavor Brittany sought, Linda supported her and cheered her on. She was her number one fan and cheerleader in life.

Also in 1994, Linda met Paul W. Darden at Unity Church. When Paul saw Linda in the church, he made it a point to sit directly in front of her. He knew that at the beginning of each service, everyone was asked to stand and greet everyone around them. Paul's plan worked. During that service they announced a Boy Scout spaghetti lunch following. Paul immediately seized the opportunity to ask Linda to the lunch. And that is how it began. Paul and Linda married almost 5 years later on August 25, 1999 in Maui. What was supposed to be a very intimate Hawaiian wedding with the two of them and a close family friend turned into one of Linda's greatest surprises. Paul had flown Kevin to Hawaii and managed to hide all 6 feet 4 inches and 220 plus pounds of him for a few days giving him the awful assignment to trek Hawaii unseen until the wedding day. All suited up, just as Linda was walking down the aisle adorned in her lavish wedding gown, Kevin appeared from behind, "Hey Mom, don't you need someone to walk you down the aisle?" When she turned and saw Kevin, Linda let out a scream of joy that the entire hotel heard. Linda was beaming on her wedding day but Paul having arranged for Kevin to be there to surprise her was the icing on the cake to her beautiful nuptials. Paul and Linda went on many adventures around the globe before and after that blessed wedding day in August.

Each year they ventured to Stowe, Vermont to watch the leaves change in the Fall. In 2007, they took a once in a lifetime 4 month first class tour around the world to 16 different countries. During the first part of the trip, they renewed their vows for the first time in Bora Bora. This was the first renewal out of total of three renewals. The others were in Waco at Paul's home on her birthday, and once more at the Hyatt in Maui. Linda rode elephants, camels, water buffalos, bullet trains, helicopters, and just about every other form of transportation. They spent time in Puerto Vallarta swimming with dolphins, toured many wonderful places both in and out of the US. Linda enjoyed the beauty of Paul's passion to seek adventure and knowledge, and always experiencing the best the world had to offer. They laughingly call themselves "view snobs."

In 2005, Linda became a second-time grandmother. This time to a boy…a grandson named Kyan Charles Williams. Charles chosen after her father's namesake. Many things could light Linda's smile up bright but none as bright as that of her only son and grandchildren. Linda loved many things and when she loved she loved BIG. When Kyan was born, she would stop by their house every day that she could and just sit and hold him for hours. She would rock him and sing to him and talk to him as if he understood everything she was saying.

At the tail-end of their trip around the world, in March of 2007, they had an introduction via the world-wide-web to the next set of grandchildren, the birth of twin boys, Kasyn Hays and Kamdyn Ray Williams. After returning from her world tour, once settled back into a routine, Linda was no longer to work full time due to ongoing issues from a skiing accident that had happened a couple of years prior. Any void she felt from no longer working was quickly filled when she was able to keep her new twin grandsons several days a week. In preparation of this, she had turned her home into a residential version of Babies R Us. Everything she bought, she bought in twos and then some. Just like her other grandchildren, these kids didn't want for anything. She had nicknamed Kasyn, "Racin Kasyn" and was always defending Kasyn's very energetic behavior. Linda seemed to relate most to him and one day made claim that he got "every bit of him" from her. Now, at 9 years old, I believe everyone would agree. Kamdyn, as an infant, was dubbed "the bear" and was the calmest baby…just like a teddy bear. She was so proud that Kamdyn looked just like his Daddy. Nana loved that all four of her grandchildren had those Johnson blue eyes.

Anytime Linda saw a baby she would ask complete strangers if she could hold them. Babies always made Linda smile. Regularly, Linda would have to have a "baby fix."

She not only made sure her grandchildren always had what they needed or wanted, but it was her heart's desire to share with them some of the experiences that her and Paul had experienced. She made some of the greatest memories with them traveling with them. A trip to New York City to see the Broadway play Wicked with Brittany. They all went to Lake Tahoe multiple times and in multiple seasons. She and Paul taught each grandkid to ski the slopes while in Tahoe. They all got to experience everything from camping to Disney World.

Then in 2011, Paul and other family members began to research some of the abnormal behaviors she was exhibiting and after a multitude of tests, doctors, misdiagnosis, and diagnosis, they learned that she had a very rare brain disease called Frontotemporal Degeneration. FTD leads to loss of function in the frontal temporal brain regions, which variably cause deterioration in behavior and personality, language disturbances, and alterations in muscle or motor functions. As the disease progressed, Linda could no longer be left alone. She was cared for by her family and some very patient and loving caregivers in her home until December 2014 when her family made a very tough but necessary decision for Linda to move into US Memory Care of Plano. It was a fine establishment that employed some very special people that cared for Linda over the next year and a half. Fortunately, Linda was no longer aware of her condition.

You could often find her in the dining room visiting with Miss Jean, a retired school teacher who suffered from Alzheimer's, who enjoyed Linda's company, even when Linda had lost most of her verbal communication skills. Even in her days of deterioration where the disease had begun to corrupt the light in Linda's eyes and everything else about Linda that we all knew and loved, she still made friends and attracted those around her. As hard as it was for those around her to see her in this state, she still had many that visited and cared for her…praying for a miracle, wishing and hoping that this was not the end of such a beautiful life.

The characteristics in Linda Lee from Tennessee that everyone knew and loved was present but fading in those final days. The light in her eyes was replaced with an absent gaze. That spunky personality that kept her moving, dancing, and singing, had numbed and diminished. She never appeared to be in any pain. Then the angels came and took another angel home. We can now reflect on what Linda left each of us and use her life as a teaching to all of us. Linda would not wish for any one of us to be sad, although, admittedly there isn't one single person near and dear that knew her that wasn't sad. She would want everyone to celebrate her life. She lived a good life. A life that ended too soon but a good life.

It is time to remember and reflect from those memories what she continues to tell each of us as we think of her now and in the days and years to come. Memories that speak loudly to our hearts, that remind us and teach us to love unconditionally as she did. To approach obstacles with tenacity and determination. To be fierce in things we are passionate about. To sing as if no one is listening and dance as if no one is watching. Be the best version of you that you know how to be. To treat life like a great big canvas and throw all the paint on it that you can.

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Linda Darden Eulogy

November 14, 1959 – August 17, 2016

At 56 years young, Linda Darden passed away Wednesday, August 17, 2016. She lost her battle with Frontotemporal Degeneration but not without a hard fight and a beautiful life that touched so many. Linda was truly a walking adventure and a joy. She lit up any room she entered. Whether it be her piercing blue-green eyes, her infectious smile, that sweet southern accent, or the kindness and charm from her beautiful personality; she was a magnetic soul. To have known her is to love her. She was a woman that was 2 parts spunk, 3 parts class, shaken, not stirred. Her life was driven with passion. Passion fueled by love. Love for people. Love for family. Love for life. She was dedicated and devoted, spontaneous and spirited, carefree and charismatic.

Linda was born to Charles and Phyllis Johnson on November 14, 1959 in Knoxville, TN. Proud and true to her zodiac, Scorpio is nothing; if not fierce. Linda was definitely fierce. She was the vivacious little sister to the doting big brother, Larry Johnson; whom she loved and admired until the day she passed. One of her most favorite things about Larry was singing alongside him as he played the guitar from their teens well into adulthood. Later the Johnson siblings welcomed their baby sister, Deborah, to their duo and then there were three. The Johnson family kiddos were a tight knit bunch. Debbie was nicknamed “Boop” and well into adulthood across the kitchen, she would holler for Boop only for Debbie to grin and respond. The day Boop moved to Dallas, TX was definitely a highlight in Linda’s life. Having her baby sister near her was the beginning of many Lifetime movie marathons, complete with ice cream and popcorn consumption.

In the mid 70’s, Linda found her wild hair and decided to embark on marriage at a very young age. Again, in true stubborn Linda fashion, she was a force to be reckoned with. She married Donnie Williams, also from Tennessee. Almost two years into their marriage, September 18, 1975 they welcomed their son, Kevin Wayne Williams. Kevin was the only child of Linda and was without a doubt the light of her life and admittedly, one of her proudest accomplishments. A few years after Kevin was born, Linda and Donnie divorced and Linda became a teenaged single mother. The love for her son knew no bounds. Blessed with the help of her mother, Phyllis aka “Mamaw” and her two siblings, Larry and Debbie, Kevin was raised with no shortage of love from those three.

In the early 80’s her mother Phyllis passed away. Channeling that wild hair again, Linda Lee from Tennessee headed west to Las Vegas, Nevada, 7-year-old son in tow, to become a High Stakes Blackjack dealer. Linda worked the tables at The Golden Nugget and Horseshoe casinos. No one could shuffle & toss cards faster than Linda. She dealt cards to some very famous people, including Red Foxx.

This wild hair sparked another journey circa 1984 leading her to Dallas, TX where she and Kevin would embark on many more adventures together. While waiting tables and working as a bartender she put herself through Cosmetology school. In 1988, Linda graduated from the Cosmetology Career Center. This would afford Linda a life that she became quite proud of and one that would allow her to use her gifts and talent. She had the gift of making people feel beautiful from the inside and this trade coupled that gift with one of making people feel beautiful on the outside too. This endeavor led her to many everlasting friendships. From fellow coworkers and colleagues, to clients from all walks of life, she was successful at what she did and enjoyed her work and the people it brought into her life.

In 1994, Linda would become a doting grandmother to a beautiful blue eyed baby girl, Brittany Austin Williams. Brittany was her “Angel Girl” and only granddaughter. Brittany didn’t want for anything. She was the light of her Nana’s life. The bond between the two of them remained strong until Linda’s passing. No matter what endeavor Brittany sought, Linda supported her and cheered her on. She was her number one fan and cheerleader in life.

Also in 1994, Linda met Paul W. Darden at Unity Church. When Paul saw Linda in the church, he made it a point to sit directly in front of her. He knew that at the beginning of each service, everyone was asked to stand and greet everyone around them. Paul’s plan worked. During that service they announced a Boy Scout spaghetti lunch following. Paul immediately seized the opportunity to ask Linda to the lunch. And that is how it began. Paul and Linda married almost 5 years later on August 25, 1999 in Maui. What was supposed to be a very intimate Hawaiian wedding with the two of them and a close family friend turned into one of Linda’s greatest surprises. Paul had flown Kevin to Hawaii and managed to hide all 6 feet 4 inches and 220 plus pounds of him for a few days giving him the awful assignment to trek Hawaii unseen until the wedding day. All suited up, just as Linda was walking down the aisle adorned in her lavish wedding gown, Kevin appeared from behind, “Hey Mom, don’t you need someone to walk you down the aisle?” When she turned and saw Kevin, Linda let out a scream of joy that the entire hotel heard. Linda was beaming on her wedding day but Paul having arranged for Kevin to be there to surprise her was the icing on the cake to her beautiful nuptials. Paul and Linda went on many adventures around the globe before and after that blessed wedding day in August.

Each year they ventured to Stowe, Vermont to watch the leaves change in the Fall. In 2007, they took a once in a lifetime 4 month first class tour around the world to 16 different countries. During the first part of the trip, they renewed their vows for the first time in Bora Bora. This was the first renewal out of total of three renewals. The others were in Waco at Paul’s home on her birthday, and once more at the Hyatt in Maui. Linda rode elephants, camels, water buffalos, bullet trains, helicopters, and just about every other form of transportation. They spent time in Puerto Vallarta swimming with dolphins, toured many wonderful places both in and out of the US. Linda enjoyed the beauty of Paul’s passion to seek adventure and knowledge, and always experiencing the best the world had to offer. They laughingly call themselves “view snobs.”

In 2005, Linda became a second-time grandmother. This time to a boy…a grandson named Kyan Charles Williams. Charles chosen after her father’s namesake. Many things could light Linda’s smile up bright but none as bright as that of her only son and grandchildren. Linda loved many things and when she loved she loved BIG. When Kyan was born, she would stop by their house every day that she could and just sit and hold him for hours. She would rock him and sing to him and talk to him as if he understood everything she was saying. On her worldly travels, she would send Kyan some of the most hideous outfits. Now, at age 11, one could argue that he gets his sense of fashion, (or lack thereof) from her.

At the tail-end of their trip around the world, in March of 2007, they had an introduction via the world-wide-web to the next set of grandchildren, the birth of twin boys, Kasyn Hays and Kamdyn Ray Williams. After returning from her world tour, once settled back into a routine, Linda kept the twins a few days a week and in preparation of this part-time gig, had turned her home into a residential version of Babies R Us or Toys R Us. There wasn’t just a baby swing her and there, it was as if Noah’s Ark delivered the shipment for these boys. Everything she bought, she bought in twos and then some. Just like her other grandchildren, these kids didn’t want for anything. She had nicknamed Kasyn, “Racin Kasyn” and was always defending Kasyn’s very energetic behavior when he squawked for hours inconsolable as an infant, or when he would get into something and make a disastrous mess as a toddler, or when he was just having one of those days. Linda seemed to relate most to him and one day made claim that he got “every bit of him” from her. Now, at 9 years old, I believe Kasyn’s parents would agree. Kamdyn, as an infant, was dubbed “the bear” and was the calmest baby…just like a teddy bear. She was so proud that Kamdyn looked just like his Daddy. Nana loved that all four of her grandchildren had those Johnson blue eyes.

Anytime Linda saw a baby she would ask complete strangers if she could hold them. Babies always made Linda glow with joy. Regularly, Linda would have to have a “baby fix.”

She not only made sure her grandchildren always had what they needed or wanted, but it was her heart’s desire to share with them some of the experiences that Paul had shown her. She made some of the greatest memories with them traveling with them. A trip to New York City to see the Broadway play Wicked with Brittany. They have all been to Lake Tahoe multiple times and in multiple seasons. She and Paul taught each grandkid to ski the slopes while in Tahoe. They got to experience Disney World. They even went on a great big family camping trip, a lovely camping trip just a few years ago, as lovely and rugged as camping with an RV can get.

Then in 2010, Linda and Paul began to research some of the abnormal behaviors she was exhibiting and after a multitude of tests, doctors, misdiagnosis, and diagnosis, learned that she had Frontotemporal Degeneration. FTD leads to loss of function in the frontal temporal brain regions, which variably cause deterioration in behavior and personality, language disturbances, or alterations in muscle or motor functions. Linda was cared for by many patient and loving caregivers in her home after her diagnosis as she could not be left alone. These special people include Cathy Williams, Tina Scott, and Christine Samson-Hocevar.

As the disease and deterioration progressed, her family made a very tough but necessary decision for Linda to move into the US Memory Care of Plano. It was a fine establishment that employed some very special people that cared for Linda over the year and a half. Fortunately, Linda was no longer aware of her condition. You could often find her in the dining room visiting with Miss Jean, a retired school teacher who suffered from Alzheimer’s, who enjoyed Linda’s company, even when Linda had lost most of her verbal communication skills. Even in her days of deterioration where the disease had begun to corrupt the light in Linda’s eyes and everything else about Linda that we all knew and loved, she still made friends and attracted those around her. As hard as it was for those around her to see her in this state, she still had many that visited and cared for her…praying for a miracle, wishing and hoping that this was not the end of such a beautiful life.

The characteristics in Linda Lee from Tennessee that everyone knew and loved was present but fading in those final days. The light in her eyes was replaced with an absent gaze. That spunky personality that kept her moving, dancing, and singing, had numbed and diminished. She never felt any pain. Then the angels came and took another angel home. We can now reflect on what Linda left each of us and use her life as a teaching to all of us. Linda would not wish for any one of us to be sad, although, admittedly there isn’t one single person near and dear that knew her that isn’t sad. She would want everyone to celebrate her life. She lived a good life. A life that ended too soon but a good life.

It is time to remember and reflect from those memories what she continues to tell each of us as we think of her now and in the days and years to come. Memories that speak loudly to our hearts, that remind us and teach us to love unconditionally as she did. To approach obstacles with tenacity and determination. To be fierce in things we are passionate about. To be free. Stretch out of our comfort zones and see the world. Be a human being not a human doing. Sing as if no one is listening and dance as if no one is watching. Be the best version of you that you know how to be. To treat life like a great big canvas and throw all the paint on it that you can.