Linda Weaver

Linda Weaver, age 75, passed away on Thursday, October 10, 2024 at Clinton Healthcare and Rehab. in Clinton, Missouri. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 AM on Wednesday, October 16, 2024 at the Vansant-Mills Chapel in Clinton, Missouri with visitation from 10:00- 11:00 AM prior to the service. Cremation to follow services. Inurnment will be in Englewood cemetery at a later date. Memorial contributions can be made to the Deepwater Labor Day Picnic Fund and may be left in care of the funeral home.
Linda Ann Weaver was the oldest child born to William O (Bud) and Dorothy Griffith on April 6, 1949. She grew up on their family farm in rural Bates County, graduating from Ballard High School in 1967. After completing 1 year of college, she married a Deepwater boy (Doug Weaver) on August 31, 1968. She often joked that nobody warned her about setting a wedding date near Labor Day, as by agreement, the couple cut their honeymoon short to return to the Deepwater Picnic that year.
While Doug and Linda resided a short time in Lees Summit, they quickly returned to the Deepwater area to begin their family. The couple had 4 children, Melanie Grace, Charles Ray, Sarah Alice, and Seth Aaron. In the early years of her marriage, Linda was a housewife, and bookkeeper to Doug's trucking and auto salvage business, until Doug's passing in 1985.
After Doug's death, Linda reentered the workplace, first as an assistant activity director for Truman Lake Manor, then Linda became a RSVP Volunteer Director for this region, and she also worked for the US census department. In the early 1990's, Linda returned to the University of Central Missouri (then CMSU) where she finished the bachelor's degree she had begun prior to marriage, and then she went on to earn her Masters Degree in Sociology in 1997. During her masters program, she interned with Twin Lakes Hospice here in Clinton.
Linda attended college at the same time her children were in college and high school. After earning her degrees, Linda began her career as a Child Protection Specialist for the State of Missouri Childrens Division in Cass County. After many years of working on the child abuse and neglect side of Children's Division, she was promoted to an Adoption Specialist for the Johnson County MO office. She retired from the state of Missouri in 2013.
Linda remained at the house on the hill south of Deepwater, raising 4 children, and enjoying her 6 grandchildren, as well as other honorary grandchildren. Throughout her life, Linda was active in her children's extra curricular activities such as sports, 4H, Boy Scouts, Vacation Bible School, among other things. She devoutly supported the city of Deepwater and participated regularly with volunteer work for the Deepwater Labor Day Picnic and the Deepwater Truck & Tractor Pulls. She kept up with her grandchildren's activities as long as her health allowed. Even after her health declined some, she remained active in her families lives. While Linda never mastered the art of "driving in the city", nor would you have been able to find her as an official Facebook profile, she was a master of Mapquest/ Google Maps / and a stealth Facebook operator (through her kids internet accounts of course) and she also mastered finding Live Stream services. You never knew when she would drive into a grandchild's sporting event, guide a grandchild's timing to take her horse to the arena because she was watching the live feed at home, or call you to tell you to take a different route to work due to road conditions or weather. Subby's weather channel was one of her favorites and provided her hours of enjoyment. Linda also routinely listened to the police scanner, and usually was the first to notify her kids if there was any going's on locally. Through these resources, Linda was able to remain ever present in her family's lives, and many times, a full step ahead of them.
Linda also had a passion for genealogy and could quickly locate and provide an ancestry story of the family for her kids, through the website "find a grave". Memorial Day was a special time for Linda as she often visited numerous cemeteries, covering 100's of miles, accompanied by whichever child, or grandchild that happened to volunteer, or "draw that straw" for that particular year. We took that for granted, and now wish we'd have paid more attention. So if you see a Weaver kid in a Bates County Cemetery, lining up with the angel statue's gaze, looking to the large Oak Tree, calculating a 45 degree angle to find a tiny stone with no readable name in the roots of another tree, that'll be us remembering a long lost relative by leaving a flower for Mom.
Those who know Linda, knew she dearly loved her animals, both pets and livestock. Her experience as a farm kid allowed her to help guide her kids through their own individual 4H projects, such as raising Steers, curing hams, training dogs, and she was a master at flower arrangements. She had, and loved, many cats, dogs and she housed and loved many of the grandkid's horses and ponies on her farm. There were mixed feelings from her family when she insisted on getting a Great Pyrenees puppy to replace her former shelter dog Fletcher. But, as Grandma, she got her way and welcomed Amos into her home a few years back when Amos was a young puppy, only a few weeks old, and Linda was in her late 60's. She said she needed a livestock dog to keep the critters away. Amos and Linda became the best of friends, and when COVID turned life upside down, Amos was right there beside her. Unexpectedly, but maybe knowingly in a way, Amos passed 11 months ago.
Linda was a Christian, and accepted Jesus Christ as her Savior early in her life. She was long time member of Unity of the Lakes Church in Warsaw for 40 plus years. She derived comfort from the congregation and community that she found in the church.
Linda is survived by her Son Seth Weaver, Clinton; Daughter Sarah Vincent (Joe), Deepwater; Son Charles Weaver (Gina), Urich; Daughter Melanie Weaver (Steve Vogel), Clinton; 6 Grandchildren, Myla Wells, Devin Liles (Danielle), Jesse Vincent, William Vincent (Brooke Platt and baby girl on the way), Cole Vincent, and Lauren Vogel (Zane White). Linda is also survived by 2 Brothers, Thomas K Griffith (Juanita) of Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Rex Griffith (Jerry) of Montrose, MO, many nieces, nephews, cousins, and numerous other family and friends.
She will be missed by all who knew her.
Arrangements have been entrusted to Vansant-Mills Funeral Home in Clinton, Missouri.