On Friday May 22, 2026, God called His servant, Linda LaVance Kinnebrew Terry, home to her eternal rest, with her daughter Toni, by her side.  Linda was a member of Good Shepherd Baptist Church, Petersburg, under the leadership of Bishop Jeffery L. Reaves, Sr., where she used her gifts as a teacher in the Kingdom Kids Children's Ministry, and the Women's Prayer Ministry.

Linda was the fifth girl, and last of nine children born to Dedie and Elizabeth Gaines Kinnebrew, in Rome, Georgia.  Educated in the Rome city school system, Linda was the Valedictorian of the Class of 1958 at Main High School.  The halls of Main were also where she would meet the love of her life, Michael.  Following graduation, Linda enrolled at Knoxville College, Knoxville, Tennessee, where should would earn a bachelor's degree in social studies and be initiated into the Gamma Eta Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha, Sorority, Inc.

Linda and Michael were married on September 1, 1962, in Los Angeles, California, a union that produced three children and would last 62 years.  Very early in their marriage, Linda embraced the life of an Army wife, following her husband around the world, while raising her young family.  This would include having each of her children in the month of April, in a different country, and moving at least a dozen times.

A lifelong educator, Linda received her first teaching role at an American elementary school, while Michael was stationed in Germany.  Linda would go on to teach in a variety of positions in Georgia, Virginia and Alaska. In the early 1970's, Linda also worked on a ground-breaking drug program for soldiers dealing with the after-effects of the Vietnam war.  While in Fairbanks, Alaska, Linda took on the challenge of learning an entirely new program in two months for teaching children with dyslexia.  She would later recall that period as one of her most enjoyable times as an educator.  Returning to Virgina in the late 1970's Linda found her forever teaching home at Walton Elementary School, in Prince George County, where she would serve until retirement in 2009. Within 6 months, she once again answered the call and returned to a part-time role as a reading teacher, and an interim instructor for home-bound students. Outside of the traditional classroom, Linda also shared her love of Christ through teaching children and youth at the various churches where her family worshipped.  She also served, along with her husband, as a member of the board of directors of Retreat to His Presence Ministries, a family retreat and conference center ministry.  In her retirement, Linda also embraced the Practical Life Institute of Good Shepherd, where she took courses almost every session since 2013, to further her walk with God.

Following the untimely death of her youngest brother, Linda penned a poem entitled He was a Giant, My Brother, which helped her navigate the grieving process, but also opened her to another way for God to use her gifts.  She would go on to write several poems, often never shared with others, and finally, a short story, I Never Was a Butterfly, published in 2012.

Linda was preceded in death by her parents, Dedie and Elizabeth; her husband, Johnny M. Terry, Sr.; and her son, Johnny M. Terry, Jr.  She was also preceded by all her siblings, brothers, Willie (Francis), George (Vera), Robert (Mae Francis) and Louis (Pauline); and sisters, Lelia (Theodore), Anna (Henry), Jessie (J.D.) and Louise (John).

She is survived by her children, Toni and David; daughter-in-law, Kate; grandchildren, Kayleigh and Keir; sister-in-law, Beverlyn Terry; and a host of loving nieces, nephews, extended family and devoted friends, neighbors and former students.  She will be missed by all who knew and loved her, and the many lives she touched.

Services will be held 11:00 A.M., Saturday, June 6, 2026, at Good Shepherd Baptist Church 2223 South Crater Road, Petersburg, VA, Bishop Jeffrey L. Reaves, Sr., Pastor and eulogist. The intemrent will be held at Albert G. Horton, Jr. Memorial Veterans Cemetery.

J. M. Wilkerson Funeral Establishment, Inc., 102 South Avenue, Petersburg, VA, (804) 732-8911, www.jmwilkersonsince1874.com. Watch the funeral services live online on our J. M. Wilkerson Funeral Establishment, Inc. Facebook page or click here to view: https://vimeo.com/event/5977675?fl=so&fe=fs