Linda Mae Swoveland
Linda Mae Swoveland was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on June 17, 1941, to Joseph Adelma Swoveland and Effie Mae (Merrell) Swoveland. She passed from this life on Saturday, July 18, 2020.
After spending her elementary years in Natchez, Mississippi, Linda and her family moved to Coalgate, Oklahoma. She loved the oil field work of her father and the peaceful, happy atmosphere of a small town. She loved to pass the time climbing trees and reading books. She was very athletic, and could outrun many of her older brother’s friends. As a guard on the 1958 Coalgate High School State Semi-finalist Women’s Basketball Team, Linda was recently inducted into the Coalgate Athletic Hall of Fame, and still has many close friends in Coalgate. She served as Worthy Advisor of Rainbow Girls her senior year. She loved music, and played clarinet in the high school band. She was known for her “piano hands,” and the town would celebrate the Superior Ratings she earned each year at contests.
Linda earned an English degree and Music minor from East Central University. She was President of the Pi Kappa Theta sorority, and voted Pesagi Annual Queen in 1961. She taught English at Jenks Middle School for many years and was a Librarian there.
She married Robert Scott West of Allen, Oklahoma, in 1962. Together, they had two children, Robin Lynn and Scott Swoveland. Linda was a devout Christian wife and mother who had dinner on the table at 5:00 each night, took her small children to church three times a week, taught Bible class, coordinated VBS, decorated bulletin boards, and many other things. She loved playing left field with her friends on the Jenks Church of Christ softball team. Robert and Linda have been members of the Park Plaza Church of Christ in Tulsa since 1968, and for a time, the Jenks Church of Christ, where they have many dear friends and wonderful memories.
What defined her most was her love for God, family and friends. She was always praying, constantly serving, working to pay for college, shopping for pretty clothes and helping with schoolwork. She commuted from Coalgate for two years to babysit her granddaughter, and cared for her husband for many years before his death in 2019.
Linda is survived by her brother, Joe Merrell Swoveland, of Vidalia, Louisiana; and her daughter, Robin Schubert, and husband, Kelley; and son, Scott West and wife, Melanie. She has three grandchildren, Westley Scott Schubert, Maura Noel West, and Derrick Scott West.
Linda was laid to rest Saturday, July 25, at the Coalgate Cemetery in the presence of a small gathering of immediate family. Due to Covid 19, there are no plans for a memorial service at this time. In lieu of flowers, donations in Linda’s memory may be made to Christian Care Senior Living Community, 560 Prestige Circle, Allen, Texas 75002, where she has many friends and wonderful caregivers.