Touchstone Blessings and Legacy of ‘Family’

Linda’s true focus in life was family, church and community. She was an incredible force of nature in connecting with people and making them feel welcome in her home. She was an excellent event planner who used her gifts and skills to host incredible Christmas parties in her homes in Chantilly and Vienna. She helped friends organize and host their birthday and anniversary parties and weddings. Her hard work, attention to detail and creativity were all founded in her strong personal ethics and determination to do things the right way. She was never too busy to talk to anyone, or to help them. One friend described her as the “Love Connector” because of her incredible smile, warm hugs and words of encouragement.

Linda learned horticulture and landscaping from her grandfather, MT (Pa) Britt. Her homes were aesthetic marvels of trees, shrubs, flowers and lawns. She was the family gardening expert, and friends relied on her to help them in their own landscaping work. She also was a master home decorator. Her and Earle’s homes were tastefully and warmly furnished. Many family pictures and souvenirs reflected Linda’s various travels – and personal taste and touch. Her Christmas decorations annually transformed the Jones’ home into a “Winter Wonderland.”

Linda’s love for family made her the matriarch of her and Earle’s families. Linda was a key connector for family reunions. According to Earle, her powerful and ethical guidance, grounded in biblical scripture, is what made her a great spouse, mother, grandmother, aunt and big sister. Her steady hand helped guide her son Stephen to become a church pastor and family man in his own right.

Later in her life, Linda used her advice of not being afraid to do something new to become an award-winning author. Linda published three books, all inspired by common touchstone themes of the blessings, joys and legacy of family, as well as turning challenges and obstacles into successes. The first of Linda’s books, “Touchstone of Resilience,” won the 23rd Annual Colorado Independent Publishers Association Merit Award in the Biography category in 2017. The book was republished in 2023 and is a tribute to Earle and his family legacy – and their over-arching pursuit of building a better life through attaining formal educations.

In 2018 Linda wrote and published “Thank You Daddy,” a book written in honor of her father, George Harrell, who adopted Linda and provided her with a strong father figure. In 2019, Linda wrote and published “Touchstone of Determination – True Grit,” which is the personal story of Dr. James Mitchell, the president of Wallace Community College in Selma, Ala. In addition to her three books, Linda regularly published blogs on self-empowerment. Linda is loved and remembered by her family, community and those who knew her, not only as an accomplished corporate executive and caring community citizen, but as a loving and beloved daughter, sister, wife, mother and grandmother.