Linda Hall Belue, 62, of Searcy passed away on March 1, 2006. Born Dec. 7, 1943, in Osceola, AR, she was preceded in death by her parents Theodore and Vesta Hall. Survivors were her husband of 43 years, Bill Belue of Searcy; her children, daughter Kerri Berkemeyer and husband Gary, daughters Caitlin, Lauren and Mallory; son Russ Belue and wife Jennifer, daughter Lucy; son Stan Belue and wife Kara, daughters Sara and Regan all of Little Rock; her sister and brother-in-law Dorothy and Jim Fielder of Searcy; her brother Ted Hall of Manchester, TN; and a host of additional family and friends.

Linda was a member of the College Church of Christ and was employed by the Searcy Medical Center. As a former resident of McCrory, AR, she has many close friends there. Linda was a person of great joy, strength and faith and was an inspiration to all who knew her. She faced her illness with undaunted courage and humor, always believing in the power of prayer. Her beauty and unquenchable spirit will live on in her six beloved granddaughters.

Comments at Linda's funeral by her nephew Barry Fielder

When Uncle Bill asked me if I would say a few words today, his only real instructions were that he wanted it to be short. At the time, I t hought, "No problem - I can do short." Then, as I began to think about what to say, I realized that would be harder than it first seemed. I thought about stories I remember about Aunt Linda and I heard other stories shared over the last couple of days, some I had heard before and others I had not. I then began to think of many different characteristics of Aunt Linda. I thought of her love for relationships she had with her brother and sister. I thought of her seemingly ever-present smile and I kept hearing in my head her distinctive laugh. And I thought of how much I remembered her laughing. I thought of her selflessness and how she would always think of others before herself. I heard the story of only a week ago today her trying to convince everyone she needed to go to Little Rock to help Russ and Jennifer move. That's how she was - always more interested in giving than receiving. Just Wednesday night Kerri was telling of someone stopping by earlier that evening and saying Aunt Linda had given an anonymous gift when he was having financial struggles. He had narrowed it down and figured out it was her, although she hadn't told anyone about it. In fact, she only told Uncle Bill some months later.

Now sometimes her zeal for giving got the best of her. Like the Christmas she gave Stan a new Gameboy game. Stan was quite excited, except for one small detail. Stan didn't have a gameboy. So every Christmas since Stan's been waiting for that Gameboy. I thought of her strength and courage in fighting a terrible disease. I thought of how so often people would visit her or talk with her to offer encouragement and would, instead, leave after she encouraged them by her faith in God. I thought of how she repeatedly told others, both family and friends, of how she was at peace with her situation. I thought about a lot of things about Aunt Linda. And then I thought, "How do you distill all of that down to something short?"

While one word could never adequately characterize her, there is one word that kept coming to my mind. It's a word that I don't use that often, but it seemed like a perfect fit for Aunt Linda. JOYFUL! I think she lived a joyful life. And the more I thought about her life, the more remrkable that fact became - particularly as I thought about the last few years. And it reminded me that joy for us as Christians isn't dependent on our circumstances. Rather, our joy is in the Lord. I think Aunt Linda epitomized that. As I thought about her strength in her battle with cancer, I was reminded of Nehemiah 8:10 where Nehemiah tells the people, "the joy of the Lord is your strength." I think that's the best I can do in summing up what Aunt Linda was about. The joy of the Lord was her strength. And so today, we celebrate her joyful life and we find our strength to do so in the joy of the Lord.

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Funeral of Linda Belue
Bruce McLarty
March 3, 2006
Roller-Daniel Funeral Home
Searcy, Arkansas

I have always liked Linda Belue. She was one of those sun-shinny people who flashed a smile, gave you a hug, asked about you, and said something positive. Why wouldn't you like someone like that?

I knew her from the College Church after she and Bill moved to Searcy, so I was very aware of the ups and downs of her struggle with cancer during these final years.

But last night I sat in the den of their home on Rehoboth with Bill and the children, and I asked them to tell me about her. There were no real surprises, but as is typical at times like that, I realized how little I knew about this incredibly strong, loving, vibrant Christian woman. I asked them to describe Linda in their own words. They said,

An inspiration
Courageous
Beautiful
Her smile
Her hugs
Optimistic
Fun
Loved her grandchildren
Loved to shop
She always matched from head to toe
She was a good friend to many good friends
Easy touch for every neighborhood child who was selling anything for a school fundraiser
Bill told of how on the tough days, she loved for him to take her for a drive. And nothing finished off a good drive like a chocolate dip cone.

Her family remembers her as...

Caring - She loved to do things for others

. They remembered how back when she cooked, before these final years when Bill took over those duties, she wrote their names on her recipe cards - in the top corner it would say "______ favorite."

. She cared for others even when she felt very bad.

I have an heirloom in my hands. It is Linda's journal for 2006. I'd like to read what she wrote on February 4 and February 5.

February 4
Have plans to go to Little Rock to see kids.

February 5
Got up today feeling bad. Did not have (a) good night. Did a lot of crying today - Bill was so sweet to me- Took me for two different rides. I love him so much. Lord, help me to get back to feeling like I did before I fell. I know you can do it -I just have to put my trust in you. Faith, unending faith is what I need -I can get this back with your help -I love you, Lord and I want you on my side. I know that you love me, too. Please, my precious Lord, help me. Heal me back to my normal health. I place my trust in you! I love all my kids and grandkids so very much. I'm so happy that Russ and Jenn & Lucy are getting a house with a yard for Lucy to play in. I love her so much.

You can hear in those words how deeply she cared.
Tender hearted-she cried last week when she couldn't help with that move
And the children say they can't remember a time when she led a prayer without crying.
One of Linda's greatest accomplishments in life is that she helped to knit together a very close-knit family.

They, like the family of the virtuous woman in Proverbs 31, last night, today, and for the rest of their lives will rise up and call her blessed.
They cherish her legacy as a loving wife, mother, and grandmother.
They saw in her a genuine and strong faith. A faith that now lives on in her family.
Echoing in their hearts for the rest of their lives will be the sounds of her music of faith.
On Sunday mornings, they remember always waking up either to Hymns from Harding or to Elvis Presley singing Gospel songs.
Church was a cornerstone of her life and the life of her family.
She sang a lot and loved a lot of songs, but the one the family will probably not be able to sing for the rest of their lives without remembering Linda is the song we will close with today - Victory in Jesus.
Which leads us to speak of our hope in the Lord.
A Christian funeral is not just only the celebration of a life well-lived; it is also the bold, comforting, defiant proclamation of our confidence that death is not the end. We believe the Lord will someday raise Linda to rest in his arms forever.
Linda wrote of this in another journal in October of last year. It was after she had received the devastating news that the cancer had spread to her liver.

She wrote:
Don't cry for me,
Cry for the person in misery
For whom we have no face.
Don't cry for me,
I'm in a much better place.

Her poetic verse points us today to texts that proclaim our hope:

The first is in 1 Thessalonians. A little later today I'll read at the graveside from those comforting words in chapter 4 that are so appropriate for that moment.

But here I want us to remember something else about the 1 Thessalonian letter - one of the very earliest letters the Apostle Paul wrote. He had been in Thessalonica for a very short time when he planted the church. Opposition arose and he was snatched away before he got his spiritual children raised. So he quickly sent back a letter to teach and encourage. One of the striking features of the letter is that each of the 5 chapters ends with a mention of the return of Christ.

1:9-10
2:19-20
3:12-13
4:17-18
5:23-24

We often get distracted and forget that our lives are to be lived in the anxious expectation of the Lord's return to take us to himself.

The second passage is from Revelation 21 - the vision of the New Jerusalem. Rev. 21:1-4
Linda and the Apostles Paul and John all join together today to remind us that a better place awaits us, that the Lord will someday return, and that heaven will truly, truly be a better place!

What a remarkable Christian woman Linda Belue was! She was a fortress of strength, tenderness, and love for all who knew her. And what a wonderful Savior Linda Belue has! He will someday return to take her resurrection body home to be with him forever!