Linda Sue Steil Monroe Qualls

1938 - 2025

Linda Sue Steil Monroe Qualls

May 30, 1938 - Nov 4, 2025

Linda Sue Steil Monroe Qualls, 87, passed away in Tulsa on November 4, 2025, joining the love of her life, James Bert Qualls ("Bert"), who passed away four years earlier. Linda was born in Tulsa on May 30, 1938, and was preceded in death by her parents, James Thomas Steil and Mary Evylen Stiles Steil of Tulsa, and her sister Jane Darlene Steil Romine of Tulsa.

Linda attended Tulsa's Central High School, William Woods liberal arts college in Fulton, MO, and Oklahoma State University. She took additional business and law courses after graduation to obtain an accounting degree. Linda loved numbers and was always curious about new technology. Her son James bought her one of the first computers that came to market and almost every permutation thereafter, and she still took great joy at 87 sitting at her desk working on Excel spreadsheets and the many other programs on her iMac, two iPads, and iPhone. She also was an avid reader and a huge fan of genealogy, insisting that her grave marker and obituary list all of her family names for ease of reference for future genealogy fans.

Linda's first marriage was to Stephen Burton Monroe of Bartlesville on February 21, 1961. When Steve passed away suddenly on April 1, 1971, Linda became a single working mother to their son James during an era when women still had a hard time getting credit on their own and did not enjoy all of the benefits afforded men. Despite these and many other hardships, Linda persevered, focusing on improving their lives and ensuring that James had every opportunity to succeed. The icing on the cake to her surviving those hard years so successfully was that she ultimately met Bert, who changed her life in so many wonderful ways. They enjoyed traveling and simply spending time together, as well as with the melded family they created when they married on June 23, 1979. Except for a brief period spent in Michigan, they called Tulsa their home, and Bert's hometown of Haskell served as a second home.

Linda moved into an independent-living apartment at Montereau in 2019 to be near Bert when he moved into long-term care there. Unfortunately, the Covid pandemic came shortly thereafter, and her greatest sadness was that she was not allowed to be by "Berty-Bert's" side when he passed during the peak of Covid restrictions. Linda continued living in her apartment after that until her own passing, enjoying reading, crocheting, solving puzzles, and working on family business matters.

Linda was known for her quick wit, laughter, and determination. She was a lifelong fighter, never backing down from adversity. She was a multi-decade survivor of breast cancer and a 6 ½ year survivor of small-cell lung cancer. Linda also survived several other life-threatening ailments, always choosing the most aggressive treatments that would increase her chance of survival to spend more time with her family and friends. When she was suddenly taken by an unexpected illness, James and Ben were by her side.

Linda is survived by her son, James Burton Monroe of McLean, VA, Ben Cornett Monroe (née Misty Lynn Monroe) of Springfield, OR; her brother, Charles Thomas Steil and his wife, Janice of Tulsa; and the many other members of the extended Steil, Romine, Monroe, and Qualls families.

A public viewing will take place on Friday, November 14, 2025, from 3 to 5 p.m. at Moore's Southlawn, and a graveside service will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, November 15, 2025, at Memorial Park Cemetery. Moore Southlawn 918-663-2233 share memories at www.moorefuneral.com