Linda Jewel Livingston Neese

 Ms. Linda Jewel Livingston Neese, 77, of Collinsville, passed away Thursday, October 17, 2024, at Ochsner Rush Health. A graveside service will be held at a later date.

 Linda worked for many years at BellSouth as a dispatcher. During that time she made lifelong friends among the Telephone Pioneers. She enjoyed cooking for her colleagues, for her church, and always for family holiday celebrations. She also loved shopping, especially trips to Birmingham and Jackson with her daughter. In fact, her greatest joy was being Gerilyn’s mother.

 Linda was a member of Pleasant Ridge Methodist Church and loved her church family.

 She is survived by her daughter, Gerilyn Thead; her brother, Larry Livingston; her nieces and their families; and numerous cousins. She also leaves behind her beloved cat Cali, whom she rescued as a tiny kitten.

Linda is preceded in death by her parents, Elwin and Ola Mae Livingston.

Gerilyn would like to thank her Uncle Larry and cousins Kathy and Archie Scarbrough and Debbie Butts for looking after her mother. She also is thankful to her mother’s friends, especially Faye Brown and Captain Evelyn and Major Fred Thornhill for their many visits, her neighbors Tully and Pam Johnson, her long-term sitters Amy Golden and Madison Haney, her Deaconess nurses, her therapists, and the staff at Ochsner Rush ICU South. The family also appreciates the concern of her friends from BellSouth and those from Pleasant Ridge Church and Pastor Ron Kitchens, as well as, from her extended family.

Linda’s family suggests memorials be made as donations to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and The Salvation Army.