Linda Arlene Heard was born October 31, 1941 to William George Heard and Adrienne Yvonne Heard (nee Marshall) in Porterville, California.
Linda is survived by three sisters, Melissa Culloty of Clear Lake, California; Penny Blaufuss of Clovis, California, and Patty Heard of Porterville, California. Her eldest sibling, Betty Culp, passed away in 2013 at age 72 in Cloverdale, California. Linda was raised with many other siblings since her parents fostered children from the county. Three of the kids were later adopted.
Linda attended Burton Elementary School and Porterville Union High School until her graduation in 1959. Linda completed three years of high school in Porterville and finished her senior year by correspondence, graduating with her class.
Linda attended Strathmore First Baptist Church with her family for years. She accepted Christ as her Savior at an early age and was baptized. George had come to the youth group and church services to be with Linda since 1955. He was influenced by Linda to accept Christ in November 1956 and was baptized. They were engaged soon afterward. George graduated high school in 1957 and joined the Air Force, moving to Biloxi, Mississippi for technical training. A letter a day kept them in touch with each other.
Linda married George Luker on August 26, 1958 and moved to Tucson, Arizona where he served in the USAF for more than 6 years. They were assigned to Tuscon for two years at whoch time they were transferred to Rantoul, Illinois, for more training. His permanent assignment after training was Rome, New York where they lived for more than five years. Their military service ended in 1965.
George and Linda adopted their daughter, Lesa, in 1961 and then gave birth to a son, Jon, born in 1962. They moved to Santa Clara, California in the Silicon Valley to find work after George left the USAF. George worked for Western Electric for two years, then Fairchild Research and Development for five years and finally for National Semiconductor for 23 years. Linda worked as a teacher’s aid in Santa Clara Unified working with 4th and 5th grade special needs children for 15 years.
Linda and George attended and served in a General Baptist Conference church in Santa Clara for more than 40 years. They taught Sunday School classes, served as financial secretary, served on the board, as well as many other roles. They bought a home in Santa Clara where they lived for more than 40 years before moving to Gilbert, Arizona.
Linda retired from teaching in 1995 because her scoliosis prevented her from sitting or standing for long periods of time. She also needed to care for her father who was hospitalized from complications due to Parkinson’s and her mother, who was suffering from brain cancer. Linda and George took care of her parents for two years. George took early retirement in order to help his wife’s family.
They jointly researched a solution for Linda’s scoliosis and finally came to the decision that a spinal correction would be the best choice. She had four surgeries from 1999 to 2000. The first two surgeries were successful and she was able to walk, stand, and drive for a few months. Then, however, an infection needed to be removed and her hardware needed to be extended. The result was a slow recovery to being able to sit. Breast cancer was then discovered, surgically removed, and then Linda underwent six months of chemical infusions. She had and implanted pain pump and had her spleen removed when the catheter was altered. She also had a brain tumor that was removed by targeted radiation. There were many other complications and hospital visits. She looked at ceilings for about 15 years. The last complication was aspiration pneumonia which she was unable to overcome. Her swallowing was compromised, as was her breathing. She fought a tough battle for many years, earning her the nickname of “Tough Old Bird,” just like her mother before her.
