Linda Carolyn Dyer-Daniel

Linda Carolyn Dyer-Daniel, 74, of Sallisaw OK passed away on September 11, 2022, at St. Francis Hospital, Tulsa. Linda was born on October 19, 1947, to Bobby “Bob” Edsel and Zona Mae (Duree) Dyer in Anadarko OK where she spent her childhood and attended Virginia Ave Baptist Church. After her parents’ divorce, Linda and her brothers, Robert and “Mike” Dyer, were raised by their maternal grandparents Otto and Zella (Reed) Duree, also of Anadarko OK. Although Linda never graduated from high school, at age 17 she talked Oklahoma City University’s Dean of Admissions into admitting her without the required high school diploma. Some would have said that Linda was the product of the 1960s—a free-spirited young woman who wanted to plot her own way in the world instead of conforming to society’s expectations for young women. Others who knew her well would have sworn that she left home at 17, headed for OCU, because she couldn’t use the “I have to go to the bathroom” excuse to get out of helping “Granny” Duree with the family dinner dishes any longer. Either way, Linda went on to study at OCU and several other Oklahoma universities in between bearing three children, playing the role of “Corn Woman” in the 1970 film Little Big Man, and getting briefly married and divorced twice. Linda’s answer to a failed marriage? “Go back to school,” and she eventually earned a bachelor’s degree at Central State University (1986), a master’s degree from Oklahoma State University (1988), and a doctorate degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (1994). While attending UW-M and out at a bar with friends, Linda met Mark Daniel and sparks flew. They married in Florida while on a mini-break in 1992. “Florida,” Linda decided, “was so romantic that they just had to get married,” and Mark, being 7 years her junior, could only agree. Several months later, they eventually told their respective families of their whirlwind nuptials. It was a romance that lasted 30 years—until the day of her passing. After earning her doctorate degree in 1994, Linda, with Mark in tow, moved back to Oklahoma where she’d left her three teenaged children (now grown) with her widowed mother Zona so she could pursue her post-graduate educational goals. In the fall of 1995, Linda accepted a position with the Oklahoma State Health Department, kickstarting a more than 13-year career counseling children and their families. When her health started to decline, Linda decided to retire so that she could devote more time and energy to her love of crafting. She prepared for this event in advance—one of the few times in her life that she believed “forethought” to be necessary.

Linda is preceded in death by her father “Bob” Dyer, grandparents Robert and Jewell (Avants) Dyer and Otto and Zella Duree, stepfather Paul Clark a.k.a. “Sugar Buddy,” brothers Robert and “Mike” Dyer, sister-in-law Mary Keller, in-laws “Pete” and Maxine Peterson, and her mother Zona Clark. She is survived by her husband Mark Daniel (Sallisaw OK), daughter Melissa Dyer-Billings and husband Craig Billings (Choctaw OK), son “Randy” Anderson and wife Kara (Stillwater OK), son “Chip” Anderson and wife Debi (Parma OH), sisters-in-law Shirley Dyer (Anadarko OK), Kathie Dyer (McLoud OK), and “Ginny” and husband “Ron” Estervig, brothers-in-law “Pat” Daniel, and John and wife Mary Daniel, as well as her beloved grandchildren: J. Sydney Purcell, Devon Moseley, Halle Moseley, Colton and Tiffany Anderson, Colby Anderson, Kyrie and Warren Gelling, “JJ” and Lynnea Anderson, and Sarah Anderson and five great-grandchildren.

A memorial service is planned for what would have been her 75th birthday at 10:00 am on October 19, 2022, at Bill Eisenhour Funeral Home, 8805 NE 23rd Street, OKC, OK.