Linda Rebecca Dedge

Linda Rebecca Dedge, age 69, of Jasper, FL. passed away on May 8, 2023 at South Georgia Medical Center in Valdosta, GA. following a lengthy illness. Linda Dedge was loyal, dependable, and absolutely undaunted. She was not a woman who shed many tears, and when she did it was either out of deep sadness or in a rage against injustice. She was a pillar of strength for many throughout her life. Her memory is engraved on the hearts of those who knew her as a staunch advocate for children and a powerful mother. When we remember her, it will not be in the soft breeze of a spring day or the gentle singing of a songbird but in the roar of a lioness and in the silent shadow of a great mountain. She was tough when the times were tough, but she was also soft as the petals of the thousands of roses she grew over her lifetime. Nothing pleased her more than gathering family together for good food and good times. There was no pot of greens better than hers, and if one of her children wanted a dish prepared a special way, it was on the table alongside the one she prepared for everyone else. No one was left out of the enjoyment of Linda Dedge's table. Some will remember her from the days she owned Dedge's Florist in Jasper. Many others will know her from her role working to protect abused and neglected children in her many roles in the Guardian Ad Litem Program, including a long stint overseeing seven counties as Circuit Director, a career of service that won her recognition from several Florida governors and a United States senator. Her family remembers her laugh, how easily it broke through the layers of her own hardships to melt ours away. We remember her with a baby resting on her chest or nestled in her arms because she did not have a child, grandchild, or great grandchild that didn't spend a significant part of their infancy sleeping peacefully in her embrace. We remember that she let us feel our feelings but never let us stew in them. We remember she told us to mind our own business and stay out of other people's. We remember how good she always smelled, somehow making her signature Estée Lauder Beautiful perfume smell better on her than it did on anyone else. We remember her because there is no moment of our lives that her presence did not fill, whether she was near or far. Even now that she is gone, she remains the powerful figure of our Mama, our Nanny, our Aunt Linda, and our sister in the part of her spirit she left each of us through uncountable acts of love and kindness she showed us throughout her life. Her departure has left us all bereft of the raised eyebrow that from Linda was more effectual at stopping nonsense than any words. We are also left without her heart-healing hugs. "It'll be alright," she would say, before she sometimes quoted Scarlett O'Hara, "After all, tomorrow is another day." Whether our tomorrow comes soon or in the distant future, take faith. We will see her tomorrow. Linda was preceded in death by her mother, Georgia Ruth Pursser Galloway and her beloved grandmother, Fannie Lee Pursser. She lives on in her children, Teddy Stalnaker (Patricia), Melissa Voyles (Patrick), Veronica Richards (Tex), Valerie Heck, and Paul Curtis Dedge, her sister, Tammy Plank (Danny), her 11 grandchildren, 20 great-grandchildren, her nieces and nephews, and her caretaker Laverne. Memorial services will follow at a later date.
An in lieu of flowers will follow when the service date is announced. HARRY T. REID FUNERAL HOME, Jasper, FL. was in charge of immediate arrangements.