In the early morning hours of Saturday, January 18, 2020, at 4:30 a.m., Linda, my mom, took her last breath on this earth and received her Golden Wings to Heaven with myself and her daughter-in-law Renee by her side holding her hands. She passed at Reid Health Hospital in Richmond, Indiana, due to multiple organ failure sustained from a massive heart attack.
Mom was born in Lexington, Kentucky, on October 18, 1946. She was the third child of six to Mary McQueen and Dennis Lakes.
Mom grew up in western Wayne County, Indiana. At the age of three, she became very sick and spent a lot of her childhood in Riley Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis, Indiana, where she is still considered undiagnosed with her illness.
She was a simple person and it didn’t take much to please her. She often talked about playing on the banks of Symonds Creek with her older brothers or going to the store to get a sandwich and penny candy. Mom told us stories of growing up in Cambridge City and her many childhood friends.
She loved sharing her time with friends and children of the community, trips to LeSourdsville Lake Amusement Park in Ohio, fishing at Manlove Park, walking to Dublin Park and playing hide n seek in the Dublin Cemetery late at night. She was a fan of Elvis Presley and classic country music. We would take rides in the car late at night in a snowstorm just to watch it fall in the headlights while listening to her favorite music.
She recognized the beauty in God’s world from sunrises to sunsets, to the early morning dew on a spiderweb spun in a fence on the side of the road. Mom could spot a deer or wild animal before anybody else would see it.
She spent many hours and traveled many miles watching her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren compete in sports and 4-H. She was their greatest fan!
She attended the Cambridge City Christian Church and was baptized there on March 29, 2002.
As an adult, she received her GED, owned and operated the Eastside Restaurant, babysat for many kids and cared for many elderly people in the community, and retired from the Richmond State Hospital. Mom was so strong willed, she worked many odd jobs for income to keep from receiving disability even though she qualified for it at the age of three years old.
She wore many hats and went by many names. If you knew her very well, you probably called her “Mom”, “Momma Hall”, “Granny”, “Sis”, or “Aunt Linda”. She was the one person our entire family depended on in good times and bad.
Linda was preceded in death by her parents, three brothers, Ralph Lakes, David Lakes and Robin Lakes and sister-in-law Linda Lakes.
Linda is survived by two sons, Tim (Renee) Hall and Bobby (Tonya) Hall, both of Cambridge City, IN; four grandchildren, Timothy Hall of Cambridge City, IN, Taylor Hall of Cambridge City, IN, Katelin (Tyler) Doerflein of Jacksonville, NC, and Ashlyn Hall of Cambridge City, IN; four great-grandchildren, Avyanna “Avy” of Corbin, KY, Kaden of Cambridge City, IN, Gage of Cambridge City, IN, Zovada “Zoey” of Jacksonville, NC, and baby Adalynn “Addy” due in April; one brother, Dennis Lakes of Arcadia, FL, sister Sue (Don) Neice of Fortville, IN; sister-in-law Phyllis Lakes of Fort Myers, FL; sister-in-law Debbie Lakes of Greenfield, IN; two step-grandchildren Kelsey (Zac) Gagle of Decatur, IN, and Tyler Rupe of Spring Hill, FL; one step great-grandchild, Aurora Gagle of Decatur, IN; and many aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, and three special friends at the apartments where she lived for years.
Mom was a very giving person, making sacrifices all of her life by always helping and putting others’ needs before her own. Even after death, she continues to do so by donating her body to the Anatomical Education Program at Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis, IN.
A special thank you to the doctors, nurses, chaplains and staff of the ICU and Hospice at Reid Health Hospital for helping us during this very difficult time.
To respect her wishes, there will not be a calling or service. Any donations can be made in Linda’s memory to: Anatomical Education Program, 635 Barnhill Drive, Room MS 5035, Indianapolis, IN 46202, or Riley Children’s Foundation, 30 S. Meridian St., Suite 200, Indianapolis, IN 46204 or online at www.RileyKids.org.
Written by Tim Hall