Linda Lee (Magee) Eskew

Linda Lee (Magee) Eskew passed away on January 25, 2021 at the age of 78. She is preceded in death by her loving husband of 61 years John V. Eskew. Linda had served 40 years at Goodfellow Air Force Base. She began her civil service career September 14, 1964 as a GS-3 Editorial Clerk and Clerk Typist in the Technical Training Publications office at Goodfellow AFB. Consistently excelling by hard work and dedication, she earned many promotions over the years until in 1973 she became the Supervisor for the Training Materials Branch. Attending Angelo State University in the evenings, she received her BBA degree in Management in 1981 while she was the Cryptologic Linguist Measurement Evaluation Manager, making the transition to the training specialist career field. In 1982, she became the Curriculum Chief for cryptologic linguists finishing her distinguished career as the Training Support Flight Chief, 316th Squadron, Goodfellow Air Force Base, Texas. In 1996 Linda Eskew broke the glass ceiling for women by becoming the first female GS-13 at Goodfellow when she was promoted to Flight Chief for Cryptologic Maintenance. Her contributions to training initiatives are endless. She spearheaded the inception and acquisition of the initial linguist Voice Processing Training System (VPTS) Classic and has since been a pivotal part of the evolution of VPTS to become the Intelligence Training System, which is the backbone for all cryptologic training at Goodfellow. The greatest legacy Linda leaves is in the countless people she has encouraged and mentored. A great advocate of training, she always supported training opportunities for her staff. She is the heart of the 316th Training Squadron. Her achievements include: 1997 CIA’s National Intelligence Certificate of Distinction, 1996 AETC Outstanding Intelligence Senior-Level Civilian of the Year, 1996 17th Training Wing Civilian of the Year, GS-10 and Above, 1995 17th Training Wing Federal Woman of the Year, 1994 17th Training Wing Training Development Section Chief of the Year. She is survived by her daughter Terrie Hawkins and son-in-law Charles Hawkins, daughter Marilyn (Missy) Coleman and her grandsons Justin Hawkins, Jared Hawkins and Tyrus Ford IV. A graveside service will be held at 1:00 p.m. Saturday, January 30, 2021 in Johnson’s Lawnhaven Memorial Gardens. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association. You were the heart and soul of our family momma, God speed. Love you always Terrie and Missy.