Linda Marie Johnson Duncan regained her dancing feet on December 17, 2022, at 2:13 am surrounded at home by her loving husband Larry and three daughters.
Linda was born on April 9, 1953, in Terre Haute, Indiana to Howard and Imo Johnson as the third child of seven. She is survived by all of her siblings: Randy (Karen) Johnson, Martin (Mary Ruth) Johnson, Mary (Lin) Weaver, David (Tanna) Johnson, Patti (Bobby, deceased) Murphy, and Gloria (Kent) Waller.
Linda’s childhood memories included hard work on a dairy farm, various antics with her siblings, and moving back and forth from Illinois to Arizona. She most fondly recalled her time in Arizona with church friends and family picnics.
While Linda lived in Illinois, she met her husband Larry who says he knew she would be his girl when he first saw her. Their first dates entailed memories from the Edwards County Fair and football at the Mount Carmel Snakepit. Larry and Linda married in Springerville, Arizona on June 13, 1971, after a three-year courtship and returned to Illinois to begin their married life together.
Larry and Linda were blessed with three daughters: Francie (Bob) Ellis, Jackie (Brian) Free, and Lesa (Daniel) Shilling. Life with their daughters was filled with volleyball, strawberry picking, camping, and numerous church events.
Linda always claimed she was the jack of all trades and master of none. From playground supervisor to bus driver to school cook, Mrs. D loved working for the Grayville school system so that she could be near her daughters. VBS at Grayville First Christian Church was also one of her favorite times each year because she not only got to spend time with her girls, but she also got to have a great impact in the lives of other youth. Linda truly loved God and wanted to teach others how to work hard, be respectful, and love God with all your heart. She always told her girls that if they had time to go to sport camps, they had time for church camp, another reminder that God was a central focus in her life. Linda also loved her nieces and nephews and went out of her way to spend time with them. The people who knew her remember her kindness, how she put others before herself, and how she maintained her faith even as life threw numerous hardships her way.
Linda had a gift for sending cards; she had a deep love for flowers, birds, and garden flags; her younger years were filled with music and dancing. She also enjoyed playing cards with her siblings and their families, camping trips, out-of-the-blue picnics, truck-honking and duck-feeding with the grandkids, and going to yard sales.
Linda believed her favorite accomplishment was when she became Nyny. She dearly loved all seven of her grandchildren: Abby, Bob, Nate, Melati, Katherine, Caleb, and Bella. They say she was the best Nyny. She also had a special friend, Millie, who brought her great joy as her favorite animal friend. Linda valued others immensely and was certainly an amazing wife, mother, grandma, and friend.
Linda’s life on earth was not always easy, but she fought a good fight and finished the race, so her family rejoices that she is finally able to walk again.
Memorials can be made to Mission III Academy, Oil Belt Christian Service Camp, or Til He Returns.
Visitation: Wednesday December 21, 2022, from 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m., Little Prairie Christian Church, Albion, IL
Funeral Service: Thursday December 22, 2022, at 10:00 a.m., Little Prairie Christian Church, Albion, IL
Interment: Mt Zion Church Cemetery, Albion, IL
Ingram Meridith Funeral Home, Albion, IL