Linda Carroll Dean, of Ardmore, Okla., was a hardworking, charismatic, funny, independent, and sweet woman. Linda was born at home in Leon, Oklahoma where she grew up with her six siblings. She was extremely close to her maternal grandmother, “momma”, who helped raise her from a very young age. At the age of five, Linda began attending Carter Seminary School in Ardmore, Oklahoma. Carter Seminary School is a commonly known boarding school for Indian children to attend in the western part of the state of Oklahoma.
Though forced to speak English in school, Linda continued to speak Choctaw with her family and elders in her community due to her deep commitment to her tribe, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.
One of Linda’s many talents and hobbies included cooking and making delicious recipes for all her family, friends, and coworkers. To this day, Linda’s coworkers talk about her cooking and how much they would look forward to her food at annual potlucks and events.
Linda was a talented and well-loved hairdresser for twenty years. By the age of 40, she unfortunately succumbed to an aggressive journey with heart disease, cardiomyopathy. Which ultimately left Linda unable to continue her career in cosmetology due to long hours of standing and the physical strain on her body.
After the end of Linda’s hairdressing career was finalized, she decided to enroll in the Southern Oklahoma Vo-Tech school and attend classes in medical coding. From there, she was able to begin a new career path in medical records with the Chickasaw Nation.
When Linda wasn’t working in her career, you could find her watching movies in the theater, attending local Pow Wows, crocheting, sewing, attending Arts & Crafts shows, or spending time with her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.
Linda’s children have fond memories of taking weekend trips to Texas to spend time at Six Flags and the local water parks. One year she took the whole family camping to the Ozark Mountains where they had so much fun swimming, hiking, and fishing, that they all came back home sunburnt and with blisters. It was an unforgettable trip for Linda and her entire family.
It came as no surprise to Linda’s friends and family that she had had the little red heart on her driver’s license for several years prior to her passing.
Linda passed away in January of 2018 from chronic heart failure. Fortunately, her family was still able to honor her previous wishes of donation — even though she thought she would not be a candidate because of her health. Her family chose to consider her donation as an honor to be a part of. Linda’s family states that it is comforting to know that Linda can continue to be a blessing to those around her. She always did have a talent for bringing laughter and joy to those around her.
