On October 25, 1924, God blessed Richard Augusta Samuels and Princess Elizabeth Johnson Samuels with a beautiful daughter who was destined to become a gifted academic and Christian educator. She was the youngest of six children born to them in the Panama Canal Zone, where she received her primary education.
Linda went on to graduate from the La Boca Normal School for Teachers, subsequently teaching elementary and junior high school in the Panama Canal Zone. Linda’s mother was a significant influence to her choice of a career and her Christian education. Before leaving the Canal Zone she received a sound education and Christian experience through the Wesleyan Methodist Church in the Paraiso Canal Zone.
In 1947, Linda moved to America to attend Fisk University, receiving a Bachelor of Arts Degree, matriculating to Cornell University for her Master of Arts Degree in 1952. She then went on to the University of Texas, North Texas State University and Southern Methodist University for further post graduate work.
Linda was a proficient elocutionist and loved reciting and performing. Some of her accomplishments include her recital in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Some of her favorite works were “The Creation” by James Weldon Johnson and “Llewellyn and his Dog”. In 1946, she authored a pamphlet entitled “An Exhibit on the Races of Mankind.” She also received acclaim from the Fisk and Nashville, Tennessee Communities for her performance in Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night.”
Her career in teaching higher education began at Prairie View Agricultural and Mechanical College where she taught sociology.
Upon her marriage to the Rev. Snowden Isaiah McKinnon in May of 1954, she became a member of the Presbyterian Church and was a valuable partner to him in the ministry. She was a longtime member of the First Presbyterian Church of Dallas, Texas. She became first lady of St. Peter’s Presbyterian and Hope Presbyterian Churches of Dallas, Texas; along with the Highland Hills Presbyterian Church of Dallas, which her husband was the founder. This led to many other spiritual assignments.
Linda’s tenure in the public schools of Dallas Independent School District, includes, Lincoln High School and Skyline High School as a counselor. Other assignments were South Oak Cliff High School, Oliver Wendell Holmes Middle School and A. Maceo Smith High School as Assistant Principal and Dean of Instruction. She was highly respected as she fulfilled her destiny as a gifted educator on many levels before her retirement in 1986.
Mrs. McKinnon is survived by her son, Mike and daughter-in-law, Charlotte; her stepson, Argentry; and a host of other relatives and friends.
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