Linda Elaine Tillman Dietrich

1939 - 2024

LINDA ELAINE TILLMAN DIETRICH GUSTWICK Linda met Jesus face to face on Sunday, June 16, while at Texoma Medical Center, following a lengthy illness. Linda was born on June 14, 1939, in Amarillo TX, the daughter of Patric Smith Tillman and Pearl Elizabeth Enloe. Her family moved to Houston for a short time before moving to Howe where they lived with Linda's beloved grandmother, Rosenia Enloe during Linda's childhood. Linda accepted Jesus as a child and was baptized in "Grandma's church," Howe First Methodist Church. A private graveside service will be held Thursday morning, June 20, at 10:00 am at White Mound Cemetery. A celebration of Linda's life will be held at 2:00 pm at the First Methodist Church, Howe, the church Linda loved and supported. Honorary pallbearers are George Cavender, David Bedgood, and Jack Norman. A reception will follow in the Fellowship Hall. All are invited to attend the service and reception as Linda would love for her family and friends to share stories. Following graduation from Howe High School, Linda attended the University of North Texas at Denton where she earned her BA degree in merchandising and business administration. She was a member of Alpha Phi sorority and several other organizations. She also met her future husband, John Dietrich, at UNT. They were married on November 23, 1960. Linda's initial employment was with IBM where she earned the company's highest employee award, the "IBM Means Service" award. John and Linda adopted two children, Johnny and Joy, and while raising their children, lived in Howe, Sherman, and Madison IN. While living in Madison, Linda earned membership in the American Interior Design Institute. She owned and operated Broadway House Interiors for 15 years and received the Indiana American Society of Interior Design Award for the restoration of the 1837 William Hendricks house, one of three historic homes she restored in Madison. She was a founding member of the Madison Garden Club and the Madison IN chapter of the Humane Society, and a member of the Tri Kappa Service Organization. After 36 years of marriage, Linda said goodbye to John and moved to Natchitoches LA. She quickly earned her Louisiana Realtor's License and established herself in real estate sales and community service. In Natchitoches, Linda served as the President of the Natchitoches Business and Professional Women's Club and the Natchitoches Board of Realtors and as a board member of the local American Heart Association, and the Kiwanis Club. Her historic homes were featured several times on the Natchitoches home tours. She also was a founding member of the Krewe of Dionysos in 1998 and chaired the ball in 1999. She was named Queen Dionysos III. It was through this organization that Linda met her second husband, Tony Gustwick. They were married in 1999, and Linda loved supporting Tony in his work for the Northwestern State University Foundation. They were active members of the First United Methodist Church in Natchitoches. Linda and Tony moved to Sherman to be closer to Linda's family in 2015 as Tony's health was declining. Linda lost Tony the following May. Together, she and Gilbert Koehler found care and companionship following the loss of both their spouses. They were married on December 21, 2018, at the Atonement Lutheran Church in Plano TX. They shared a love of pets, gardening, reading, and travel. Linda was preceded in death by her grandparents, mother and father, brother Patric Smith Tillman, Jr., special cousin Mary Jo Wrenn, and husband Tony Gustwick. Linda is survived by her husband, son Johnny Dietrich of Jackson MS; daughter Joy Elizabeth Dietrich of New York NY; niece, Cindy Tillman Wilson of Denison; nephew, Patric Smith Tillman III of St. Paul Park, MN; sister-in-law, Reeca Tillman of Denison; two great-nieces Chrissy Wilson Cook and Huntsman; greattsman; great-nephew Ricky D. Wilson; special cousins, Beverly Jay Martin and Donna King Bedgood; and several other cousins and many friends. Memorials may be made to the Howe Methodist Church or Home Hospice of Grayson County. The online guestbook may be signed at waldofuneralhome.com.