Wanda L. Linkous

Wanda Lee Linkous passed away peacefully and entered her Heavenly Home on Sunday, June 8, 2014.

MEMORIAL SERVICES: 3PM, Friday, June 13th at Lake Shore Funeral Home, 5201 Steinbeck Bend Dr., Waco

Wanda Lee Linkous passed away peacefully and entered her Heavenly Home on Sunday, June 8, 2014.  A memorial service celebrating her life will be held at Lake Shore Funeral Home on Friday, June 13, 2014, at 3 p.m. with Rev. Chris Moore officiating.  A private burial service will be held for family members at a later date.  Thoughts and memories may be shared in the online Guest Book at www.LakeShoreFuneralHome.com.

Wanda was born March 17, 1934, the second child of Walter and Florence Niswanger Kilgore, in Falls County, Texas.  At the age of ten, she moved with her family to Bagley Downs, Washington and then across the river to Portland, Oregon.  She graduated from Jefferson High School in Portland.  She moved back to Axtell, Texas, in 1952, where she became reacquainted with Burl Franklin Linkous, whom she had met years before as a child and who would later become her husband. Wanda and Burl were married on October 4, 1954.  Their marriage was blessed with three girls.  Wanda was a wonderful wife and mother to Burl and her three girls, and they were her entire focus while they were young.  As they grew and entered grade school, she shared her love and cared for two children during the day, from birth to elementary school, for church friends who worked in the Connally Independent School District.  But her dream was to become a nurse and when her girls became teenagers, Wanda entered the Licensed Vocation Nursing program at McLennan Community College.  She graduated from MCC on September 4, 1974.  It was a proud day for her and her family.  Wanda worked at Hillcrest Hospital on 3A and 3B, the post-surgical wards for twenty-five years.  She kept her nursing license current for many years even after her retirement.

Wanda and Burl loved to travel and took road trips across almost every summer. She was blessed with creativity and loved to sew and crochet.  Her girls and later her granddaughters were always clothed in beautiful dresses.  Reading and gardening were favorite hobbies.  She was a member of Lakeview Baptist Church, where she taught children’s Sunday School, helped with summer Bible School, and worked in the nursery for many years.

Wanda was preceded in death by her parents; her stepfather, Homer Morris; her brother, Cedric Kilgore; her sister, JoAnne LeFever; and her devoted husband, Burl F. Linkous. She is survived by sister, Jenna Scott; her loving daughters, Debbie Hogue and husband, Jim, LynDale Linkous, and Donna Price and husband, Bill, all of Waco; grandchildren, Erica, Jarrod and wife, Jenny, Caleb and Sarah Hogue, April Price Bettis and husband, Mark, and William Price III; great- granddaughters, Bella and Josey Hogue; and many nieces and nephews.

The family wishes to express their appreciation to the staff of The Atrium of Bellmead Nursing Home and Providence Hospice for their loving care and compassion.

Memorials may be made to Lakeview Baptist Church at 125 N. Bermuda, Waco, TX, 76705.

Place of Service: Lake Shore Funeral Home , 5201 Steinbeck Bend; Waco, TX 76708