Linda Darling

Linda was born to the late Richard and Ouida Bowers in Wilmington, Delaware on March 25, 1948. She was an only child, and the family soon moved to her mother’s hometown of Waco, TX. Due to her parent’s demanding work schedules, Linda grew up largely under the tutelage of her maternal Grandmother, Mattie Marie Snider. Linda absolutely adored her grandmother and told affectionate stories about her throughout her life.

Linda graduated from Richfield High School in Waco, TX class of 1966. She later attended Baylor University where she met her first husband. The couple married and had their first son Jason while stationed at Forbes Air Force Base near Topeka, Kansas. They later moved to Florida to station at Eglin Air Force Base. While there, Linda would go on to finish her Bachelor’s degree in psychology at the University of West Florida in December of 1971. Upon her husband’s separation from the Air Force, the family settled in Dallas, TX where they welcomed their second son Joshua in 1977. The family was later transferred to Saudi Arabia by her husband’s employer, an assignment that lasted three long years. During their time there, Linda worked as a teacher at the school for expatriate children. Upon their return to Dallas, Linda worked at the Dallas Fashion Mart. The couple would later divorce.

Forging a new path forward, Linda began her career as a Flight Attendant at Northwest Airlines (later Delta Air Lines) in 1990. She met her husband Fred Darling in 1997 while working and the couple married in 1999 and settled in Colorado Springs, CO.

In 2001, Linda’s son Joshua died suddenly at just 24 years of age. This unimaginable loss took a noticeable toll on Linda, prompting the couple to move “back home” to Waco, TX to better deal with this tragedy. Linda found comfort reconnecting with childhood friends still in the area during their time there, while she and Fred developed a deeper and more personal relationship with our Savior Jesus Christ. Sadly, tragedy struck again in 2005 when a dispute over the care of her mother (diagnosed with Alzheimer’s) would cause a rift with the extended family of her mother’s siblings. The couple decided to move to the Dallas area in 2007 where they lived until their final move to Colorado in 2011.

Linda retired from Delta Airlines in 2012. Sadly, compounding health issues prevented her from fully enjoying the retirement most envision. Even so, her huge heart and willingness to put others above herself made her a treasured wife and friend.

Though she endured multiple major surgeries on her knees and back, Linda still found happiness spending time in the Colorado mountains, enjoying dinners out with Fred, and playing with her many dogs (she and Fred would have 7 dogs over their 21 years of marriage).

Her dogs were her passion, and for that the family asks that in lieu of flowers, please make a donation in Linda’s memory to the Fuzzy Friends Rescue in Waco, TX.