Linda Susan Cope (nee Spurr), 66, left this world peacefully Wednesday, July 27, at Arbor Hills Nursing Home in Eagle Lake, after suffering a long battle with Alzheimer’s. Linda was born Oct. 11, 1955 in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. She was the youngest of five children to Douglas and Dorothy Spurr. Growing up, Linda enjoyed spending time with her family. She would tell many stories of adventures with her brothers. She would always share memories of each brother, growing up in the Soo, Drum and Bugle Corps, and being a hairstylist. Linda would always do her best to make everyone around her happy and smile. She doted on her nieces and nephews when they started arriving as well. She wanted everyone to feel they were valued when they were near her.

Linda moved to the States in 1976, after she married her first husband, who was in the Air Force, in Michigan. They moved to California where she had three beautiful children, Charles Jr, Allan, and Tara. In the summer of 1985, they received orders to move to Dyess Air Force Base in Abilene, where they would divorce soon after.

Linda soon met Marion James Cope, the love of her life, when she was working at a convenience store and he was working security for a hotel next door. On Sept. 10, 1988, she married Marion James Cope in Breckenridge.

Linda enjoyed being there for her children as much as she could; she worked many long hours to help provide. She enjoyed all scouting activities with her sons, volunteering at the Youth Center so she knew where her kids were on weekend nights, attending football games to watch her daughter perform during halftime, chaperoning many band trips, but mostly she loved family vacations. She loved taking her family home to Canada to visit family and ensure they knew her life. When her children became “adults” and left home, she and Marion would always travel...most of the time together but many times, she would convince her daughter to go on trips with her or tag along with Tara while at college and during trainings in Austin after Tara had graduated. Linda enjoyed listening to church music, watching plays and musicals, and visiting new places.

Linda always welcomed everyone into her home and there was always enough to share. She treated everyone with the same grace she would expect for herself but never demanded. She always encouraged her children to be open-minded and accepting of others, regardless of their station in life. She rarely ever cussed and was frequently frustrated by use of vulgar language. She believed that you do not speak ill of or belittle others because it just made you, in her opinion, look worse than who you were trying to demean. She encouraged her children to read as many books as possible in order to have a wider knowledge of the world. Very few knew she struggled with dyslexia and she never let it hold her back.

Thanks to policies enacted by NAFTA, the factory where Linda worked in Breckenridge closed and relocated out of country. As a result, she received a full grant to obtain her Medical Transcription license in 1994 from Texas State Technical College. While she never became 100% successful as a transcriptionist, this education opened many doors for her, which would lead her working at Blue Cross Blue Shield in Abilene, Texas in the late 90s. Linda worked for them for over a decade until deciding to suddenly leave.

Linda was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2012. In the beginning she was very adamant on keeping busy and believed she could beat the disease by staying busy. Linda never complained about her station in life, she definitely did not live a fairy tale life. She never wished for better than she had because she had enough to live. Linda lost her ability to speak around 2018. She just stopped talking one day. Marion said she probably ran out of nice things to say. Linda was the nicest and kindest person you’d ever meet.

Linda is preceded in death by her mother, Dorothy Wyatt Spurr; sister-in-law, Shirley Spurr; father, Douglas Spurr; brother James ‘Jimmy’ Spurr; sister-in-law, Sharon Spurr; nephew, Stephen Spurr; and most recently, the love of her life and husband, Marion James Cope. She is survived by her three children, Charles Smith Jr (Katherine), Allan Smith (Jeannette), and Tara Pirsch (Ben); five grandchildren, James Smith, Marion Smith, McKenzie Smith, KyleighAnn Pirsch, and Hunter Pirsch; three brothers and their spouses, Richard Spurr (late Kathleen), David and Wendy Spurr, and Allan and Debbie Spurr; and multiple and deeply loved nieces, nephews, and their children.

In lieu of plants or flowers, please consider making a donation to Alzheimer’s research in her honor. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10, at North’s Funeral Home, at 242 Orange St. in Abilene, and her ashes will be laid to rest in Canada as per her wishes to return home at a later time.