"To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die."
----Thomas Campbell, Scottish poet
Franklinton lost a lovely lady - Linda Durden - last autumn. Having become acquainted with her when I was a little girl, we stayed in touch in later years. Perhaps the spark of our connection was in the word "only" --- Ms. Linda and I were only children, and we were blessed with only children, loving daughters.
Anytime that I saw Ms. Linda was a welcome moment. From the Fair to my home or hers, we enjoyed visiting. It was in the early years that I spent time at her pretty place, the home she made with husband William Russell "Bill" Durden and only daughter Debbie, in Lynnwood; my mother and I often visited there.
A bit of background, Mr. Bill's parents --- Russell and Florena Jenkins Durden --- were our neighbors and friends down on the Enon Road. And we were kin to Ms. Florena (1915-2014), to whom Linda was a devoted daughter-in-law, through the Jenkins.
I long knew the story of how Linda came to Franklinton. Born on December 30, 1943, in Atlanta Georgia, to Marion T. Norton and Doris Elizabeth Duke Norton, she moved to Washington Parish with her parents when she was a teenager. It was here that she met and later married Bill Durden, a Franklinton native and LSU graduate, who became a well-known Certified Public Accountant, establishing his own firm here in 1982. And the young couple had daughter Debbie who was the apple of their eye.
Linda was an active member of Hillcrest Baptist Church, teaching Sunday School there for many years. And I remember her at both First Baptist Church Playschool and Bowling Green kindergarten, where she thoroughly enjoyed teaching young children. With her kind, caring nature, she was a natural fit for a teacher of youth. But the children she loved most were her own - daughter Debbie and precious grandchildren Taylor Elizabeth Jarrell and Preston Russell Jarrell - to whom she was devoted. Ms. Linda was a fixture at their school functions and extracurricular events, from ball games to dance recitals. She was front and center.
Linda also reveled in sojourns with family and friends --- she frequently traveled with the Durdens' dear friends, my cousins Ron and Mercer Brumfield --- but she also thrived at home in Franklinton where she was a civic leader. Linda was active in the Winbury, Waverley, Shasta, and Magnolia Belles women's clubs, a record number of social and civic clubs. From what I gleaned, she not only enjoyed the monthly meetings and social gatherings, where she made many friends, but also the civic projects undertaken by each organization.
While in the past I have covered Winterset and Waverley and Franklinton Women's Club, the latter of which my mother was an early member, it is time --- in honor of Ms. Linda --- to hone in on the Winbury Club and also on Shasta. Winbury began in 1974 as the Belle Rose Club, changing its name the following year to Winbury. Traditionally, monthly meetings have been held, with the Installation Banquet in May the highlight. The speakers and programs featured at these meetings are always informative and entertaining. And socials that are interspersed throughout the year include spouses. I know with certitude that Bill and Linda were arm in arm.
Flashing back to the late 1980s, Winbury delivered Christmas and Thanksgiving baskets to needy families, and the club donated a ticket to the swimming pool to a needy family. And of course, Winbury has always participated in the Washington Parish Fair and the Fair parade, with extravagant, award-winning floats. This historical information was taken from an article in my files that appeared in "The Era-Leader" in March of 1987. Rachel Thomas was the president of Winbury at that time.
The Shasta Club was founded even earlier than Winbury, in 1956. The club's flower was the Shasta Daisy, with club colors of yellow and white selected by vote. Their motto adopted at founding was, "Love the beautiful, Seek out the truth, Wish for the good, And the best do!" Charter members of the club included Roxanne B. Burris (the first president), Shirley Morgan, Joy Fontenot, Murlene Welch, Sally Knight, Eulalie McCain Rasmussen, and Billie Magee Lopez. My "Aunt" Bea McGehee was made an honorary member of the club. This listing of charter members and historical information was taken from an article in my files that appeared in "The Era-Leader" in February of 1987. My friend and former English teacher Becky Miller was the president of Shasta at that time.
Like Winbury, Shasta has always claimed their share of prizes for fantastic floats in the Fair parade. And through the years, they have sponsored the March of Dimes, the Cancer Fund Drive, and teen dances. Shasta has also made donations for school playground equipment, room furnishings at Riverside Medical Center, Fair Haven Children's Home, St. Jude's Hospital, Christmas for needy children, disaster relief, Little League projects, and the Activity and Resource Centers in Franklinton.
Back to Ms. Linda, I can still picture her with Mr. Bill. The two sweethearts - a prominent couple - were inseparable, until his untimely death in 2009 at the age of sixty-five. He had served on the Franklinton Town Council for twenty years and was a member of the Chamber of Commerce and the Lions Club for which he served as President and Treasurer. And Bill was intimately involved with the Fair, serving on the Midway Committee, as Chair of the Stage and Parade Committee, on the Fair Association Board as President, Vice-President, and Treasurer twice. Linda was always at his side.
With a strong faith and family, she soldiered on without the love of her life. Franklinton loved Linda. But as we know, it's often later than we think. It was Henry Rollins who said, "It's sad when someone you know becomes someone you knew." Ms. Linda will be missed first and foremost by her family; her friends in Winbury, Waverley, Shasta, and Magnolia Belles; and by all who were blessed to know her. I feel fortunate to have been in that number.
