Linda Jean Lavender

Linda Jean Lavender passed away peacefully on Sunday, June 1st, 2025, surrounded by family and friends. Linda was born on July 16th, 1949 in Oklahoma City to loving parents Frankie Lois and Clifford Keith White. When Linda was five she became the proud big sister to Beverly Kay, and her family enjoyed many family vacations and fishing trips with “Daddy” before Clifford’s tragic death in 1965. Linda found comfort in music, and flourished as a beautiful vocalist, violinist and pianist, performing in musical groups with her friends and in her church choir. Her musical talent earned her acceptance to the University of Oklahoma’s music program where a lifelong love of all things OU began. As an OU student, she excelled at many subjects and was active in her Alpha Gamma Delta Sorority and many community events. She was awarded First Runner-Up in both the 1969 Miss Oklahoma City Pageant and Miss University of Oklahoma Pageant, where she played the piano and sang a medley from one of her favorite musicals, “Funny Girl”. Linda married Ronald Gene Lawrence in 1971 and welcomed her first daughter, Kristin Jean, in 1972. Four years later, the couple welcomed their second daughter, Amy Michelle, and the family of four moved from Oklahoma to Texas. Linda doted upon her daughters, dedicating her time to Girl Scouts outings and sewing ballet costumes, while working as a “Tupperware Lady” to help support her family. Her social acuity naturally made her a skilled saleswoman, and in addition to “winning” most of the furnishings in their home, trips overseas, and many company cars, Linda earned a spot among the Top 20 Tupperware Sales Associates in the country! She loved that she could spend her days playing with her children, evenings socializing with friends at Tupperware parties, and the weekends singing in the choir and playing the violin in the orchestra at church. In 1985, Linda and Ron ended their marriage, and in 1987, Linda married Evans Lee Lavender, a friend she met at church who was also raising two children on his own, Leesa Nicole and Chadwick Christopher. The couple instantly felt a connection and would enter into a lifelong bond of companionship and love, spread over their blended family of six. It was during this time that Linda began struggling with medical issues, including rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. She sought medical help and to her dissatisfaction, the doctors had no answers or solutions. It was through this adversity that Linda began to pursue healing through natural, alternative treatments which traditional medicine simply could not heal. She studied every medical journal, naturopathic book, and homeopathic therapy she could get her hands on to find answers she was sure would heal her and many others who suffered from various ailments and diseases. She earned a doctorate of Naturopathy (while simultaneously earning a homebuilder’s degree, so she could build the next house she and Lee would call home) and started a medical practice for nutritional counseling with naturopathic medicine. She worked with doctors to create her own formula which focused on healing immunodeficiency diseases, labeled “Mannavine”; a name derived from the Lord’s healing nourishment “manna” and “vine” in reference to her Savior Jesus who is the “vine [and] you are the branches” (John 15:5). When her daughters’ college ambitions brought them from Texas to her home state of Oklahoma, Lee retired from UPS, and the couple bought a sprawling property in rural Edmond on which to build their dream home. Linda continued her thriving medical practice in the Sooner State, and spent weekends cheering on OU football and settling in to her new role as “Mema”; first to John Collin, oldest-daughter Kristin’s first child in 2002, then to Nathan Cale in 2004, Brittan Michelle in 2006, Reagan Ann in 2010, Chad’s firstborn Madison Ann, also in 2010, David Miles, youngest-daughter Amy’s first child in 2013, and Brody Keith in 2018. Linda also embraced and was known as “Mema” to nephews, nieces, and all extended family members; every child received a special Christmas gift from Mema. And if Mema was a strict mother to her four children growing up, all bets were off with her grandchildren! She relished in buying the baby girls the most beautiful outfits and taking the boys on every adventure they could think of! Mema could be busy taking the girls to the ballet just as easily as she enjoyed parades and car shows with her grandsons. Linda’s legacy is bound in her unfailing love for her family and faith in her Almighty God. She dedicated her life to educating and healing others, whether it be through her testimony, wisdom, medicine, Biblical Truth, or companionship; Linda was a true branch who bared beautiful fruit. Linda is survived by husband Evans Lee Lavender, step-daughter Leesa and husband Rodney Facemyer Jr. of Orange City, Florida, daughter Kristin and husband John Geddes of Edmond, step-son Chad Lavender and wife Jennifer of Edmond, daughter Amy and husband David Martin of Arcadia, many grandchildren, sister Beverly and husband Larry Whitener of Edmond, niece Rachel and husband Chance Wilson of Edmond, nephew Curtis Whitener of Edmond, and niece Ashley and husband Austin Shrader of Edmond.

Funeral services will be held at Baggerley Funeral Home, 930 S. Broadway, Edmond, Oklahoma; viewing on June 9th from 4pm-8pm, and a memorial service on June 10th at 1pm with burial following at Memorial Park Cemetery in Edmond, Oklahoma. The family thanks you for your kind words and outpouring of love during this difficult time.

If you would like to donate flowers for the family, here are some of the recommended Flower Shops in the area.

Madeline's Flowers (405) 341-2530

Designs by Tammy (405) 340-3233

Trochta's Flowers (405) 848-3338