Linda L. Adams

Funeral services for Linda L. Adams, 77, of Corrigan will be held Friday, June 27, 2025 at 10:00 a.m. in the Carroway Funeral Home Corrigan Chapel with Pastor Reagan Cooksey officiating. Interment will follow in the Stryker Cemetery.

Born in Camden, Texas in 1947, to C.B. Shepherd and his wife Jo, Linda spent most of her life in and around Corrigan. She attended elementary school in Corrigan and then moved to Houston with her mother and step-father Loyd Arnold when she was in the ninth grade. She attended Aldine High School until her senior year when she returned to Corrigan. She graduated from Corrigan High School in 1965 and counted among her lifelong friends many of the classmates she shared that year with. After graduation, Linda entered the workforce as a secretary, first working for the Deep East Texas Council of Governments and then for local attorneys until she landed what became her favorite corporate job at Temple, Inc. She started in the legal department but quickly moved to the Audit and Tax Department working for Chet Winger for many years. Some of her fondest memories included her time there and the lifelong friends she made.

In 1974, Linda met the love her life, Tommy, and the two of them began a fifty year adventure together. After she spent countless hours teaching him to dance, she decided he was a keeper and they were married on May 24, 1975. The two of them spent a lifetime enjoying dancing, fishing on the lake, and just being together watching their children and grandchildren grow up. She was always working on a project and despite his lack of enthusiasm she would always convince him that it was a good idea. Whether it was tearing a wall down in the house or buying a house on the lake “that needed a little work,” she was always busy. If you spent more than a few minutes around her you would hear her say, “If you want it done right – do it yourself” and she lived that every day of her life, never afraid to try something new or take on a task.

In 1981, Linda retired from the corporate world to begin what she often referred to as the greatest job ever – being a stay-at-home mom to her three children. Just as she had with her career, Linda excelled at her new role. She was the mom that did everything. She didn’t miss any event. No matter how trivial or small it was – she was there. Football, basketball, baseball, track, band, twirling, class parties, birthday parties, prom, graduations – you name it – she was there. She taught us that showing up was the most important thing she could do as a mom. Because she was there for us, she was soon adopted into our world as the mom all our friends knew and depended on. Momma Linda was always close by and she came equipped with anything anybody could possibly need. She treated everybody like they were her own and made sure they were all taken care of. She would often spend the day driving from one event to another, shuttling not only one of her kids but often many others who needed to get there quick. She would open the doors, fill up the back with kids and equipment, and drive to the next location, often stopping along the way to feed everybody in the car because – as she would so often say – “you can’t play well on an empty stomach.” She could plan an event like nobody else and those proms and graduation celebrations are often still talked about. She loved all “her kids” as she called our friends and would do whatever needed to be done to make sure we always had a good time.

While she loved being mom, the birth of her grandchildren transformed her from being just a mom to being their Ana. Levi, Mia, Bubba, Adalyn and Shayde were her pride and joy. She reveled in watching them grow up and hearing about all their activities and accomplishments. While distance and time kept her from being able to attend all their events, she always wanted to hear every detail and see every picture. She cherished her times with them – planting gladiolas with Bubba and Mia, afternoon visits with Adalyn and most of all her time with her special sweetheart Levi. The two of them shared a bond that was like no other and rarely was there a day that she didn’t see him or talk to him on the phone.

In March of 2022, doctors discovered a very rare tumor that sent our family on a journey we never expected. Like everything else she did, Mom ran straight at her illness with full force and the belief that she would be healed. She endured the surgeries and treatments with strength like no one else. In the end, even when her body was tired from the struggle, she continued to be mindful of those around her and she was so grateful for all of the care that she received. It was a true testament to mom that every medical team we encountered always remarked on how sweet and funny and joyous she was, even when things weren’t going well. We are forever grateful to the team of doctors and nurses at Houston Methodist Hospital from Neurology, NeuroSurgery, Radiation Oncology, and Physical Therapy who took care of her along the way. We would also like to extend our appreciation to the staff at CHI who took care of her and particularly to the ER staff who helped navigate those final minutes with grace and dignity.

Our family is forever changed and while the five originals are now four, the love and legacy left behind is evident in the success and accomplishments of the husband, children and grandchildren she left behind. Her fierceness and resilience will forever be a part of each of us and we will continue every day to live lives that display all the best gifts she gave us. We take comfort in knowing that she is healed and happy in her new home – which she has probably already re-arranged and painted – and we look forward to the day we are re-united with her again.

Survivors include her husband, Tommy Adams of Corrigan; daughter and son-in-law, Stephanie and Gene Stroud of Hudson; sons and daughter-in-law, Zack Adams of Lakeway, Alex and wife Tracy Adams of Liberty Hill; grandchildren, Levi Stroud, Adalyn Adams, Shayde Adams, Mia Adams, and Zackary Adams, Jr.; brother, Clifford Shepherd of Corrigan; and numerous nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.

She was preceded in death by her parents; brother, Henry Shepherd; sister, Phoebe Shepherd; and stepfather, Lloyd Arnold.

Pallbearers will be Alex Adams, Gene Stroud, Levi Stroud, Dustin Shoemaker and Howard Smith.

The family will welcome friends and loved ones from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Thursday evening at the funeral home.

Memories and condolences may be added at www.carrowayfuneralhome.com.

Carroway Funeral Home, Corrigan, directors.