LINDA LOUISE EAKIN McCRADY

1943 - 2017

LINDA LOUISE EAKIN McCRADY obituary, 1943-2017, Zelienople, PA

LINDA LOUISE EAKIN McCRADY

1943 - 2017

BORN

1943

DIED

2017

LINDA McCRADY Obituary

Published by Legacy Remembers from Mar. 9 to Mar. 10, 2017.
McCRADY
LINDA LOUISE EAKIN
September 2, 1943 - March 5, 2017. Born in Norfolk, Virginia, at DePaul Hospital, in 1943 to Roy Mastin Eakin (d. 1966) and Hazel Estelle Vaughan Eakin (d. 1963). She was raised in Warrenton, VA, and lived there until 1964. Linda graduated from Warrenton High School, where she was the Senior Class President in 1961. She then graduated from Southern Seminary Junior College in 1962, in Buena Vista, VA, and later attended the State University of New York at Buffalo. While in college, Linda gave birth to a baby that she reluctantly gave up for adoption in 1964. She would later reconnect with her firstborn, who was named Deirdre Leigh Moore by her adoptive parents. In November of 1964, Linda married James Hamilton McCrady IV of Oakmont, Pennsylvania, and became Linda Eakin McCrady. James and Linda were married for eleven years, and together, they had three boys: James Hamilton McCrady V (b. 1967), Christian Eakin McCrady (b. 1969), and Mitchell Phillips McCrady (b. 1971). Linda McCrady was a fixture in the Pittsburgh real estate world, having been a sales agent, and later sales manager, for close to 40 years. She also worked at Raynor Doors in the North Hills area, and finished up her working career at the Zelienople Area Public Library, where she was also very involved as a Senior Aide with the Zelienople Historical Society. Our hearts are broken. Our tough, outspoken, bold, beautiful Linda is gone. The smartest person in any room she was in,she unapologetically lived her life exactly how she wanted. As a voracious reader, a habit that had her working in the library both in college and in her later years, she was known to read six-ten books in a week. Linda was never short on opinions or time to proudly brag about her kids. Linda had a powerful impact on the people that knew her and the animals that she loved and cared for. She never tired of helping animals in need of food and shelter. Up until the end, most of her money went to feeding and caring for cats (domesticated and feral), dogs and wildlife. She was a lifelong member and contributor to the World Wildlife Fund, the Humane Society and the ASPCA. Linda Eakin McCrady will be missed by the myriad of people that she impacted throughout her lifetime, but not more so than her friends and family. She is survived by; her sister, Pattie Eakin of Gardiner, NY; her daughter, Deirdre Moore Johnson of Charlottesville, VA; her three sons, James Hamilton McCrady V, Christian Eakin McCrady, and Mitchell Phillips McCrady, all of Fort Lauderdale, FL; her cousins, Nancy Lukanich Cook and Frank Lukanich ; and her four grandchildren, Melissa Ann McCrady, Phillip Christian McCrady, James Hamilton McCrady VI, and Fiona Madelyn McCrady. In lieu of flowers, please donate to: www.gofundme.com/save-lindas-kitties. Cremation services have been entrusted to BOYLAN FUNERAL HOME, INC., 324 E. Grandview Ave., Zelienople,PA 16063 Expressions of sympathy may be shared with the family at:
boylanfuneralservices.com

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Sign LINDA McCRADY's Guest Book

Not sure what to say?

March 21, 2017

Jennifer Yock posted to the memorial.

March 10, 2017

James McCrady posted to the memorial.

March 9, 2017

Legacy Remembers posted an obituary.

2 Entries

Jennifer Yock

March 21, 2017

I am so sad to see that Linda has passed. She sold me and my husband our first home in 1999. She gave us champagne 2 wine glasses and a fluffy
Cat to celebrate. She was a very special lady.

James McCrady

March 10, 2017

Our hearts are broken. Our tough, outspoken, bold, beautiful "Mommy" is gone. The smartest person in any room she was in, she unapologetically lived her life exactly how she wanted. She was never short on opinions or time to proudly brag about her kids.

Those of you that know me and her also know that we had a very complicated, tumultuous relationship that had us going months, and even years without speaking sometimes. But, up until the end, we loved each other very much. If it hadn't been for the fights and tension between us, as my brother Mitchell pointed out, I never would've been kicked out of the house and moved to Fort Lauderdale... and yinz know the rest of that story.

If you think that we McCradys boys are funny, thank her. If you like that we're outspoken, thank her. If you like our perspective on life, again thank Linda. We, as kids were taught to always question everything, especially authority, and to fiercely stick up for each other in the face of anyone or thing that meant us harm. We are our mother's kids.

As prickly and gruff as she could sometimes be to people, she never tired of helping animals in need of food and shelter. Up until the end, most of her food money went to feeding and caring for cats (domesticated and feral), dogs and wildlife. Endless hours of nature programming on tv, and countless trips to zoos, aquariums and aviaries ensured that her boys would love and respect all living things like she did.

Everyone, at the end, wishes that they had one more conversation with their mother. If I had that opportunity, I would tell her much I loved her, how important her life example was to her kids, and how her independent spirit will live on in her kids... and especially her grandkids. Goodbye, Mommy.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to: https://www.gofundme.com/save-lindas-kitties.

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Boylan Funeral Home, Inc. - Zelienople East

324 E. Grandview Ave, Zelienople, PA 16063

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Sign LINDA McCRADY's Guest Book

Not sure what to say?

March 21, 2017

Jennifer Yock posted to the memorial.

March 10, 2017

James McCrady posted to the memorial.

March 9, 2017

Legacy Remembers posted an obituary.