Linda Jean Gossett (Grann), age 80, of Springfield, Missouri, died of respiratory failure on Saturday, November 23, 2024. Linda was first and foremost a mother; her greatest joy and pride were in her children. However, her fierce and loyal love reached well beyond her own family to embrace so many. Linda faced many difficulties and challenges in her life, but her deep faith in Jesus carried her through, and because of that our sorrow is tempered by joy, knowing he holds her, and she is well.

Linda was born in Springfield in 1944 to George Hansen Grann and Willa Jean Grann (Whitehead) who raised her in the knowledge, faith and reverent fear of the Lord. Linda knew the value of preserving memories, writing a book of remembrances for her children many years ago in hopes that they could “catch a glimpse of times gone by” and that their lives would be enriched by it. In it, she recalls her grandmother’s house as a wonderful place to visit. This was the house where she lived with her mother for the first 18 months of her life while her father was away fighting in World War II, and so she always felt a special attachment to the little house on Springfield’s middle west side; when her father returned home, the family of three moved down the street to their own home, still just a walk away from her grandparents. Her memories of her Grandma and Grandpa Whitehead’s home were strong. She remembered blocks of ice being delivered to an icebox and thinking it a treat to have a chunk of ice to suck on; the lighting of the wood stove for cooking; homemade meals of meat, vegetables, beans, biscuits, and cornbread baked in an iron skillet that “looked so shiny on top that I always expected to see myself in it.” However, she loved her grandma’s home-made piccalilli best of all. She recalls walking to the well with her grandpa to draw water; a “what-not shelf” in her grandmother’s living room and a very small pair of orange glass slippers that eventually came to her, and now set on a shelf in her daughter’s home; and going along with her grandmother to deliver a tin plate of food and can of iced tea to an elderly woman further down the street who had no one to care for her. The heritage of faith Linda received and passed on to her own children is summed up in her book of remembrances this way: “Grandma was a devout Christian woman who read her bible often. Today, her bible rests on a table in my living room, reminding me and making me thankful for my Christian heritage.”

Linda attended Reed Jr. High and was in the first graduating class to attend all four years at the new Hillcrest High School. She spent a year at Abilene Christian University (TX). After marrying James Shelton Gossett, Linda lived in San Angelo, TX, but the couple moved back to Springfield before starting a family. Linda had two children: Shellie Rene’ and Shawn Holt. Shellie recalls that her mother always made things special and credits her mother with her own love of words. Linda read to Shellie endlessly and there are particular books and poems that when Shellie reads them she still “hears” in her mother’s voice with her cadence. Shawn, on the other hand, would not sit still for reading, but was Linda’s “little buster boy” always giving her a run for her money. She adored both of them and her love for them was unfailing.

Linda was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis when she was 38 years old. At the time, her doctor thought she was destined for life in a wheelchair and would not be able to work, but God had different plans for Linda. She returned to work and managed to stay mobile without assistance until the past year when she began to use a walker, still staying as active as she could. In recent years she pondered how God uses the unhappy circumstances of our lives to bring us closer to him, and she certainly relied on his strength and was grateful for it.

Linda became a grandmother to Lucas when Shellie married Bruce Foltz. Lucas was twelve, and Linda always laughed remembering how he would try to eat our sour candies without making a face. When Shawn married Carmen Ammerman, Linda became “Gigi” to Shelby and Elijah, Carmen’s grown children, who adopted her immediately and loved her dearly. Linda was a great-grandmother to Ethan, son of Lucas and Jennifer, and to Olive, Yael, and Mildren, the daughters of Shelby and Matthew Michaelis.

Linda was a gregarious person, easy to talk to, and deeply invested in the loves of her friends. She formed many friendships that lasted decades. Ove the past several years, she was a member of the Tuesday Women’s Bible Class at her church and treasured the women there very dearly.

Linda held many jobs from the time she was a teenager but found her work with OACAC Headstart most fulfilling; and she retired from Cox where she worked in Materials Management.

Linda had an eye for decorating and often crafted floral arrangements and wreaths. In her younger life, when her hands would still “cooperate” with her, she painted. Over the years she curated small collections of things that made her feel “homey.”

Linda will be remembered for her fierce and loyal love, for her thoughtfulness, for her generosity, and for her Christian example. She never ended a conversation with her children before saying, “I love you”. She will be profoundly missed, and her memory will be honored by all who knew her.

Linda was preceded in death by her father, George Hansen Grann; her mother, Willa Jean Grann (Whitehead); and her sister, Joyce Ann Pennel (Grann). She is survived by her children, Shellie (Bruce) Foltz, and Shawn (Carmen) Gossett; grandchildren Lucas (Jennifer Foltz, Shelby (Matthew) Michaelas, and Elijah Ammerman; and great-grandchildren Ethan, Olive, Yael, and Mildred; brother Martin Hansen Grann; and many other family and friends.

A celebration of life will be held for Linda at East Sunshine Church of Christ on December 7, 2024, at 10:00 am. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Fair Haven Children’s Home.