A native and longtime resident of her beloved Tallahassee, Florida, Linda was a joyous spirit, devoted to her family and possessed an unquenchable curiosity about the world around her.
She served as a substitupleasure and most cherished vocation was being a devoted wife and mother.
Linda fell for the love of her life, William (Bill) Haynes Lindsey, while both were attending Florida State University. They were married at First Baptist Church in Tallahassee in 1958, and were later blessed with three children, Priscilla, Brink and Sarah.
Linda relished motherhood, always putting her family first while creating a fun and loving haven for all in their home.
Their house on Sharer Road became a hangout for friends and family where all were welcome. Later she became a doting and involved grandmother to eight lucky grandchildren, six boys and two girls.
She was a gracious hostess – beautiful, brilliant, open-minded, wonderfully witty, and loved to laugh. She had the exceptional gift of making everyone around her feel singularly special.
Linda also had the ability to ask probing questions like a skilled journalist – and was always genuinely interested in the answers. Many unsuspecting visitors to the Lindsey home found Linda good-naturedly enquiring about everything from the meaning of life to their favorite color.
She was born in Tallahassee on March 14, 1938, the youngest of three daughters to Irma Pauline Wamble Brinkley and Homer Augustus Brinkley, a prominent local businessman and entrepreneur.
Throughout her life, Linda loved music and performing. As a student at Leon High School, she sang in the choral group, the Melodears, and played both string bass and glockenspiel in the Marching Redcoats. At Florida State, she played double bass in the university symphony.
Linda excelled at FSU and among her many honors was inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society. She was an active member of the Alpha Omicron Pi sorority, and graduated Cum Laude in 1959 with a Bachelor of Arts in American Studies.
Linda was devoted to her faith and community service. She taught Sunday school and led the Circle Bible study at Faith Presbyterian Church. Later, she joined St. John’s Episcopal Church, where she sang in the choir, served on the Altar Guild and continued her Bible study. She cherished friends in the Homemaker's Club and was a long-time member of the Junior Woman’s Club.
Linda enjoyed the creative arts of embroidery and cross-stitch, and was a gifted seamstress. She adored and cared for a lifetime of family pets. She loved bird-watching, but hated squirrels. Her amusing encounters with errant squirrels that somehow infiltrated the home became the stuff of legend in Lindsey family lore.
A lifelong student of history, Linda was a volunteer docent at the Tallahassee Junior Museum (now Tallahassee Museum), and a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, the United Daughters of the Confederacy, the Colonial Dames and the Daughters of 1812. With her two sisters, she extensively researched family history and genealogy, tracing their ancestral line to Pre-Revolutionary War France.
After Linda became ill, she and Bill moved to Virginia to share a home with their daughter Priscilla and son-in-law Mark. She lived under their care and that of dedicated caregivers until her passing. As she battled her illness, Linda fought to maintain her keen intellect. Even in difficult days, she loved deeply and her glorious sense of humor remained.
She is survived by her husband of 60 years, William H. Lindsey of Montpelier, Virginia; her daughter Priscilla Lindsey Biddle and husband Mark of Montpelier, Virginia; her son William Brinkley Lindsey and wife Meaw of Washington, D.C.; and her daughter Sarah Lindsey Holmes and husband Chuck of Homewood, Alabama. She is survived by eight grandchildren: Alec Broen (and wife Heather), Colin Biddle (and wife Janet), Matthew Lindsey, Ellen Broen, Michael Lindsey, Graeme Biddle, Katie Holmes and Jack Lindsey. She is also survived by her sister, Jane Brinkley Chastain, her beloved nieces and cousins, and many dear friends.
She was predeceased by her parents, Homer and Irma, and sister, Marilyn Irma Brinkley Newton.
A funeral service and celebration of her life will be held at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Tallahassee, Florida, on March 23, 2019 at 10 a.m. The family will receive friends and family at the church after the service, with burial following at Roselawn Cemetery.
Donations in her name may be made to: the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation, the Lewy Body Disease Foundation or the National Hospice Foundation.te teacher at Leon High School, was an energetic volunteer in church and community service organizations, and was an avid fan of her Florida State Seminoles.
Her greatest
