Linda Elaine Amis

Linda Elaine Amis, passed away on Saturday, June 28, 2025 at the age of 77.

She was born on September 19, 1947, in Louisville, Kentucky, to Linden and Zorada England South, and grew up there alongside her younger brother, Danny. Even as a kid, Linda had an adventurous and creative spirit. She was a proud Girl Scout, and often dressed her pets in doll clothes, pushing them around in her baby buggy. She also had a bit of a tomboy streak, playing football in the yard so hard that she once broke her collarbone. Her love of sports came early! Linda could figure out just about anything, including how to tune up her own Volkswagen Beetle!

Linda and Dan spent most every summer at the family farm in Center, Kentucky. She loved it so much, she convinced her Mom and Dad to let her spend her senior year there and graduated from Metcalfe County High School. She was also a member of Center United Methodist Church and loved attending with her Ma South. Those Sunday potlucks instilled a love of community and bonding over homemade meals carried in heirloom picnic baskets!

After graduating from Spencerian Secretarial School, she began what turned into an incredible 42-year career with General Electric. She started out as a secretary for a group of administrators, but her talents quickly took her job further to include event planning and even helping coordinate delivery into port one of Jay Leno's prized collector cars through GE Capital. Along the way, she picked up awards for her dedication and service including a trip to NYC. She loved to talk about the time in New York when a man playing the saxophone got on the subway car with a cat draped around his neck! When Linda committed to something, she gave it everything she had. She was a two-time breast cancer survivor and enjoyed participating in local fundraisers like Race for the Cure.

In 1969, she married Fred Amis, the love of her life, and together they shared more than five decades of marriage. They raised their daughter, Kristy, in Bullitt County, Kentucky, before moving to Jacksonville for Fred's job with the railroad in 1990. Always up for something new, Linda and Fred took up tennis in their new neighborhood. Turns out, tennis wasn't her thing. She preferred to "serve" in other ways-reading to kids through United Way, throwing birthday parties for orphans (yes, with her homemade desserts), and keeping the neighborhood kids stocked with sweets from her kitchen. Everyone loved it when Miss Linda came calling with cookies! She kept the local squirrels happy with handfuls of peanuts every afternoon!

And oh, how she loved her kitchen. Whether she was staying up all night to make Kristy a Holly Hobbie cake for her 5th birthday, baking and decorating elegant wedding cakes, or making batch after batch of Christmas candies, Linda's kitchen was her happy place.

She was a diehard University of Louisville Cardinals fan and cheered loud and proud at football and basketball games. She also rooted for the Jacksonville Jaguars as a season ticket holder for close to twenty years, always showing up to tailgate with her legendary jalapeño poppers. If her teams weren't playing well she would say, "just give me a few minutes in the locker room, I'll set them straight!" Though she never drank margaritas herself…just a sip!…she was known to make the best ones around (at least according to Anthony).

Linda was fiercely loyal and stubborn in all the right ways. She always looked out for her people- especially Fred, who she lovingly helped through many of life's ups, downs, and misadventures. No stranger to shenanigans, Linda was known to hop on the back of Fred's Harley Davidson for long motorcycle rides.

To Avery and Lainey, she was Ma Amis. She adored her granddaughters and never missed a chance to take them to Disney World, no matter how hot it was in the long Florida summers. Roadtripping to Louisville to attend a dance recital, orchestra performance, or a birthday party was always something she looked forward to! Just weeks before she passed, Linda got to meet her great-grandson, Maxwell Michaels. When Avery was still pregnant, Linda asked if anyone had gotten the baby a football yet. Start 'em young!

Linda is survived by her husband Fred, her daughter Kristy Holland (Anthony), her granddaughters Avery Michaels (Benjamin) and Lainey Holland, her great-grandson Maxwell, her brother Dan South, and her nieces Dana, Heather, and Ashley. She was preceded in death by her parents, Zorada and Linden South.

Funeral service will be held 10:00am, Wednesday, July 2, 2025, at Pearson's, 149 Breckenridge Lane, with private burial to follow.

Visitation will be from 4:00pm to 7:00pm Tuesday, July 1, at Pearson's.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to the Alzheimer's Association.

Arrangements under the direction of Pearson's,

"Where Louisville Goes to Remember"