LINDA HOLLOWELL DEAN was born in Laurel, MS to
Walter L Hollowell & Corine Jones Hollowell on
Sept. 30, 1942. Walter was a Geographic Surveyor
for Gulf Oil Company. Due to his job Walt, Corine,
& Linda moved around a lot. Linda never finished
a school year until she moved to Athens when she
was a junior in high school. Linda's mother was
one quarter Cherokee leaving Linda to be one eighth.
Linda's great-grandmother was full blood Cherokee
and her great grandmother died from the flu in 1918.
Linda was in the band in Athens & was Band President
when she was a senior. She played the French Horn
and had a band scholarship to HCJC. After high
school she attended HCJC, and Stephen F. Austin,
and then North Texas where she graduated. She then
taught in Texas City. After that she taught in New
Deal, TX then in Irving, Texas, and finally in
Georgetown, TX for a number of years. Linda also
substituted in College Station, TX and Rochester,
MN.
Linda met Mike Dean (RHS-1956) in the summer of
1960 and they saw a lot of each other during that
summer. However, Mike was going to Texas Tech and
she was at HCJC and they lost touch for a couple
of years. However, they reconnected in 1962 and
Linda made it clear that she wasn't going away.
Which was fine with Mike! Linda and Mike were
married in August of 1964 & they moved to Lubbock,
so Mike could finish his degree. It was then she
taught in New Deal, TX. Mike finished his degree
and they moved to Irving where he started to work
for IBM. Mike was offered a job at HCJC and took
the job, so they moved to Athens, TX. Linda taught
in Murchison, TX for a year. Their first two sons,
David and Scott were born in Athens, TX. Mike was
offered a job at Texas A&M after seven years in
Athens, so the family moved to College Station
where Andy was born. After that Mike was offered
a job at IBM in Rochester, MN. The family moved
there and stayed for three years. IBM Austin was
staffing up and Mike was offered a job in Austin.
The family moved to Georgetown in the summer of
1980 and have lived there since.
Linda was diagnosed with Alzheimer?s disease in
2012 by a brain MRI. She had been showing symptoms
since 2010. She passed away suddenly on March 6,
2020 in Georgetown. Linda was preceded in death
by her parents, Walter & Corine Hollowell.
Linda is survived by her husband, Mike; sons: David,
Scott, and Andy; daughters in law: Keri Dean and
Celesta Dean; grandchildren: Allison Dean, Sara
Dean, Walter Dean, Alice Dean, and Alexandra Dean.
We had our heated discussions, but a hateful word
never passed between us. We loved each other and
we laughed a lot. I don't see how it gets any better
than that. I know she is in Heaven with Jesus now.
Mike Dean