Linda Lucas Wilson

Linda Lucas Wilson died on Sunday, May 20, at 12:01 a.m. after a months-long struggle with cancer. She was 79.
Linda was born to L.D. “Jack” and Letha Lucas on Jan. 8, 1939, in Guymon, Okla. The family made their home in Texhoma, Okla., until the breakout of World War II. They moved to Los Angeles, Calif., in 1942, where Linda’s father worked in a defense plant to support the war effort.
In 1947, the Lucases returned to the South, this time to Dumas, Texas, where Linda ultimately graduated high school 10 years later. After spending one year at West Texas State (now West Texas A&M University), Linda married Stan Wilson, who had just enlisted in the U.S. Army (he would later serve as an aircraft electrician). The couple spent a year stationed in Fort Eustis, Va., where they had their first child, Roger, in 1959.
The Wilsons were then stationed in Munich, Germany, for three years. There, their daughter, Lynnette, was born in 1961.
After Stan completed his military service in 1962, the Wilsons moved to Texas, living in such places as Amarillo, Carrollton, Duncanville, and Midlothian. While raising their two children, Linda returned to school, first studying at Amarillo Junior College, then returning to West Texas State, and finally graduating from North Texas State University (now the University of North Texas). After several years of taking the bus from Carrollton to Denton, Linda completed her bachelor’s degree in library science in 1970.
Linda subsequently worked as a librarian at Dallas Baptist College (now University), the Methodist Dallas Medical Center, and the Army and Air Force Exchange Service. She retired in 1986 when her first grandson was born in order to be a full-time grandmother.
Linda would often commute from her home in Midlothian to nearby Sherman, Texas, where her daughter, Lynnette, lived with her husband and, ultimately, their four children. As Stan recalls, Linda “kept the roads hot between [our home] and Sherman” in order to be available for whatever her family might need.
Around this time, Linda also developed a particular pastime, one that revealed a hidden talent: painting. Focusing primarily on landscapes, Linda spent a fair amount of the early 1990s producing a number of paintings that now hang in the homes of her two children as well as her own.
Stan retired in 1995, and he and Linda purchased a motorhome in order to tour the country. They spent the next nine years visiting various locations around the U.S., wintering in Kerrville, Texas, and devoting particular focus to the Pacific Northwest and the Rocky Mountains. They frequently traveled to Glacier National Park in Montana, Linda’s favorite place to visit.
In 2004, the Wilsons made their permanent home in Kerrville. Nine years later, they moved to North Richland Hills, Texas, in order to be closer to their children.
The couple became active members of North Richland Hills Baptist Church, singing in the choir during the 8 a.m. Sunday services as well as singing in various local nursing homes on Tuesdays as a ministry to senior adults.
Even into her final years, Linda continued in her role as a grandmother, a role that eventually expanded to include caring for her great-grandchildren. They affectionately remember the time they were able to spend with “Great-Grandma Linda.”
Linda is survived by her husband of 59 years, Stan; their two children, Roger Wilson and wife, Pam, and Lynnette Sibley and husband, Steve; six grandchildren—Jason (and wife, Anna), Paul (and wife, Deb), David (and wife, Caroline), Thomas, Alex, and Jennifer; five great-grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews.
Visitation will be from 6-8 p.m. on Wednesday, May 23, at Lucas Funeral Home, 1321 Precinct Line Road, Hurst, Texas, 76053. Interment will be at Sardis Memorial Cemetery on Thursday, May 24, at 10 a.m., with a memorial service following at 1:30 p.m. at North Richland Hills Baptist Church.