Linda Kay Vawter (Ackley)

Linda Kay Vawter (Ackley) passed away January 26, 2022 in Elizabethtown, NY. Linda was born June 27, 1944 in Indianapolis, Indiana to her parents Robert Leander Vawter and Norah Reid Vawter. She was the youngest of five siblings. Linda lived in Indianapolis until her parents moved to Crawfordsville, Indiana where she attended Crawfordsville High School. She was preceded in death by her parents and brother Robert Leander Vawter Jr.. Linda is survived by her sisters Barbara Snow and Virginia Hoyt of Indianapolis, IN and Jacqueline Gruman of Orange , VA; her sons Eric Vawter of NY, Kevin Pettus of Idaho, and George Pettus of NY; Norah Vawter of Virginia, grandchildren Ramona, Thomas, Tony, Jesse, Andre, Kadence, Serenity and more than I can think of right now, numerous nieces, nephews, Claudia (her cabbage patch daughter), and friends. She lived in IN, FL,KS, GA, and NY. She retired from a long career in the Army Finance Office at Ft. Drum, NY. Linda was incredibly creative, free spirited, loved music, and had a book of poetry that she wrote. She had a knack for making friends out of complete strangers and up to 2 weeks ago was still dancing in the halls with staff at the nursing home. She had a strong spiritual side and even stronger spiritual connection to her family. She always had a sense when something was not right with her mom, siblings and children. As I try to think of what to say as a testament for my mom, there is one thing that stands out above all else. My mom never gave up! She never gave up on life or raising 3 racially mixed boys as a single mom in poverty in the 60-70s. We started in the projects of Indianapolis in the late 60’s where we faced riots and violence on a regular basis. She got us out of there around 1972 and we actually got to live in a house for a couple of years before moving to the Basin street apartments. We were hungry a lot, our power would be turned off, we never had a car, and we got evicted from probably every place we ever lived. I cannot ever remember her freaking out, giving up, or being hopeless when life took a bad turn. She would courageously pack us all up and we moved on to start over. As I look back on those early years, I honestly cannot imagine how she did it. She always gave us the longest bear hugs when times were tough, and she had to be scared out of her mind. She always found a way to go on against insurmountable odds and my brother’s Eric & George settled in with her in upstate New York. In Heaven, I hope she is dancing with Skip and doesn’t have a care in the world. Mom was cremated Saturday, January 29, 2022 at Heald Funeral Home in Elizabethtown, NY. and will be in Idaho until her memorial.