Linda Cornelia Campbell Allen

Linda C. Allen, age 81, passed peacefully early Thursday morning February 8th, 2024 at Lower Cape Fear LifeCare.

A graveside service will be held Monday, March 11th, 2024 at 2:00pm in the Overlook Cemetery in Eden.

She was born to Gladys and Swanson Campbell in Eden North Carolina on November 26th, 1942. Linda was the eldest child and mother hen to her 4 siblings, Joel, Dana, Devon and Tammy, who all looked up to her and relied on their loving big sister’s support as children and adults. Linda is survived by her husband Karl, they had just celebrated 50 years of marriage in January 2024. Linda was passionate about caring for her own family and in addition to her husband Karl is survived by her children April, Karl II (Halsey), Lisa (Joe) and 6 grandchildren Eva, Olivia, Makenna, Waverleigh, Hazel and Harker.

Linda's list of accomplishments and hobbies is long and reflects her love of the church (specifically the Little Chapel on the Boardwalk), working with children, gardening and the arts just to name a few. She was an enthusiastic Sunday school teacher, she was also the founding director of the Mother's Morning Out program at the Little Chapel for all of it's 22 years, touching the lives of over 900 children (who usually called her by the sweet coveted nickname "Miss Linda"). These children have largely kept in touch with her over the years and often came back to the program as teachers and parents who brought their own children to the program. The program was accomplished with an all-volunteer staff on donations alone.

Linda was the creator of the large beautiful stained-glass windows in the Little Chapel’s sanctuary. Linda included her oldest grandchildren in its making and not only taught them the art of stained glass but also the of love of giving and finding beauty in the smaller things in life. Another impressive labor of love of Linda's was the creation of the Biblical Garden at the Little Chapel. She was a deacon of the church and loved to plan and implement numerous colorful church social events such as The Womanless Wedding and the Roaring Twenties Party.

As a master gardener, Linda was also a past president of the Harbor Island Garden Club where in addition to other projects she and her daughter, April, planned and drew the first version of the Harbor Way Gardens which Linda curated from scratch with club members pulling weeds, wild shrubs, and trees from the front of the Wrightsville Beach Loop area.

Many do not know this but in her early twenties Linda was a Worthy Advisor in the Rainbow Girls. Linda routinely enjoyed elaborate tea parties with her youngest grandchildren, and she loved researching family history. In later years Karl and Linda traveled extensively and Linda was a vibrant member of the Boardwalk Babes Red Hat Society. Linda and Karl eventually moved from the family home on Wrightsville Beach to split time in a North Carolina mountain home and a home on Hewlett's Creek where Karl was raised.

Linda, who was very close to her grandmother Maggie, will be interred with her in Eden, North Carolina. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to Lower Cape Fear LifeCare or to The Little Chapel on the Boardwalk at Wrightsville Beach.