Linda Colbert West of Metairie, LA, peacefully passed away on July 10, 2023, at the age of 98. Linda Madeline Colbert was born on July 27, 1924, to Walter Colbert and Ruth Hembree Colbert in Ardmore, Oklahoma. As a young student, Linda excelled in history, literature, and especially art, and she would always receive a little star at the top of her spelling test. In 1942, in the middle of World War II, Linda moved to Norman, OK, to attend Oklahoma University. Eager to help with the war efforts, she joined a service show named "O.U. Beautiful Dolls," which entertained the soldiers stationed at a nearby naval base with songs, dances, and skits. Her portrait was taken as an advertisement for the show and graced the cover of Sooner Magazine, which would later be framed and hung in her bedroom during the final years of her life. One day, a gentleman happened upon the advertisement, and he reached out to Linda asking if he could paint her image on the side of a bomber plane. He requested she send him a photograph of her in a swimsuit, but always maintaining her grace and dignity, Linda sent a picture of herself by the pool as a young child, deeming it more appropriate. Undeterred by the cheeky response, he persisted in his request, and ultimately, Linda's image was painted on a B-17 Flying Fortress. When the war ended, the once-quiet campus of Oklahoma University buzzed with the return of young men from the battlefields. Linda continued her studies in Fine Art, eventually earning a master's degree in the subject. It was during this time that her mother's friend set Linda up on a blind date with Glen Dale West, a soldier studying Geology, who was living in the friend's basement at the time. When Glen came to pick Linda up on their first date, she would later recall opening the door to greet him and thinking, "He's not a boy, he's a man." On August 9, 1945, Linda and Glen were married in Norman, OK. The day after their wedding, they moved to Houston where Glen had a job with Gulf Oil waiting for him, and later to Metairie, LA, where they raised their three children: Melinda West Seifert, Henrietta West Hale, and Glen Colbert West. Their love remained strong, even after Glen passed away, and even as Linda battled dementia later in life. In her final years, whenever she saw Glen's picture, she would gaze upon it with a knowing smile, affectionately calling him "Papa"-her name for him after he became a father. In the early 1990s, when Glen was suffering from kidney failure, their family expanded unexpectedly when a stray dog appeared at their doorstep. They named him Brownie and left food for him outside, but despite their efforts, he was too timid to enter their home. One evening, when Glen was feeling especially under the weather, Brownie finally found the courage to step inside, and from that day forward, he became an integral part of their lives. After Glen's passing in 1993, Brownie provided immeasurable companionship to Linda. She also leaned heavily on her faith and became an Elder for the St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church in New Orleans. Linda brought her eye for design and visual beauty into every aspect of her life. She was always impeccably dressed, with a beautiful scarf draped around her neck and expertly applied makeup, complete with clip-on statement earrings and bright red lipstick. She taught high school art, illustrated a cookbook, and designed an entire line of Christmas cards. In the 1970s, she learned how to work in stained glass and installed some of the panels she created inside her home. Her house was a work of art in and of itself-striking and exquisitely decorated, embracing a "more is more" philosophy that somehow always fell into perfect harmony. She created intricate thematic centerpieces for her holiday tables and wrapped gifts better than any professional. She was known to steal clippings from bushes and trees in public parking lots and neighbors' yards because they would look perfect in a vase she had at home. She collected tea sets and hosted tea parties for her grandchildren, carefully picking out petit fours and special cakes to serve on the hand-painted saucers. She left "hi" presents on her guest beds for family when they came to visit. She drew sketches of flowers, birds, and fall foliage on the handwritten letters and cards she would regularly mail to loved ones. She loved opera, especially The Three Tenors, and the Cat Stevens song, "Morning Has Broken," and could be heard singing it off-key as the sun rose outside. She loved art and books and spent countless hours inside Adler's Jewelers at Lakeside Shopping Center, slowly amassing a collection of treasures. She adored coffee, pecans, old recipes, and savored the sweeter things in life. She prioritized family above all else and loved them fiercely. She was endlessly proud of her Chickasaw heritage and always honored those who came before her, keeping their stories alive at gatherings and through a museum-worthy collection of black-and-white photographs, clippings, and pages of notes written in flowing cursive script. Through the years, Linda maintained her radiant spirit, grace, and charm, remaining bright-eyed and elegant until her final days. She leaves behind a devoted and loving family who cherished her beyond measure, including her three children and their spouses, six grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren. Her family expresses immense gratitude to Heart of Hospice for their gentle care at the end of her life. A private service will be held in Ardmore, Oklahoma, allowing immediate family to say a final goodbye to such a remarkable woman, who lived a life epitomized by love and who created beauty all around her. To paraphrase Cat Stevens: she was the sunlight, she was the morning. The family invites you to share your thoughts, fond memories, and condolences online, at www.greenwoodfh.com.