Linda Faye Herndon

Linda was born February 9, 1942, in Louisville, Mississippi to Rufus Foster Patterson and Lovie Irene Kemp and passed away Friday, February 20, 2026. Linda was a devoted member of Church of Living Hope in Tyler, Texas. She loved quilting and gardening; however, her greatest passion in life was her calling as both a career nurse and missionary to Africa with the Assemblies of God. Throughout the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, she served alongside her husband, Bobby Herndon, nursing people in Senegal and Republic of the Congo while helping plant churches to share the gospel. She carried this calling into a lifelong career of hospital nursing and home health care throughout East Texas and the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex, providing compassionate care to thousands of patients. With a desire to pass on her knowledge and skills, she devoted a significant portion of her career to teaching future nurses at Tarrant County College and the University of Texas School of Nursing in Palestine, Texas, where she retired after more than 50 years in the nursing field. Linda earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing and RN from University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston and later achieved a Master of Science in Nursing from Texas Woman's University in Denton. In 2002, she received the lifetime achievement award and was inducted into the University of Texas Medical Branch School of Nursing Alumni Hall of Fame for her distinguished contributions to the field of nursing. Her greatest achievement, in her own words, was her marriage to Bobby Herndon and the adoption of her two sons, whom she said she “drew out of the waters” when God gave them to her and Bobby. She was preceded in death by her parents; and her husband, Bobby Joe Herndon. Left to cherish her memory are her two sons and their wives, Jon and Annie Herndon of Corpus Christi, Texas, and David and Krysta Herndon of Lindale, Texas; grandchildren Autumn and Chris Turner, Atlas Herndon, Allyson Herndon, Elijah Herndon, Evangelyn Herndon, and Emily Herndon; great-grandchildren Rosie, Judah, and Sterling Turner; her two brothers, Roland Patterson and Jim and Dee Patterson; her sister, Sidney Utsey; and numerous nieces and nephews. Funeral services are scheduled for 10:00 a.m. Saturday, February 28, 2026, at Calvary Commission in Lindale, Texas with Pastor Gregg Headley officiating. Family will receive friends from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Friday, February 27, 2026, at Caudle-Rutledge-Daugherty Funeral Home in Lindale. Interment will be at 1:00 p.m. Thursday, March 5, 2026 at the DFW National Cemetery.

Linda Faye Herndon

February 9, 1942 - February 20, 2026