Linda W. Reese
1946-2024
Linda Williams Reese, age 77, of Norman, Oklahoma, passed away on Wednesday August 14, 2024. She was born on October 4, 1946, in Norman, the daughter of Billie and Edith Williams. She married her high school sweetheart, John "Bill" Reese, on June 15, 1968.
Linda graduated from Norman High School and received a baccalaureate degree from the University of Oklahoma and a master's degree from the University of Kansas. After Bill's service in the Army, she embarked on a career as an educator, eventually returning to Norman to earn a doctorate in History. Following her graduation in 1991, she taught at the University of Oklahoma and East Central University where she was a published author and historian who received numerous accolades for her significant scholarly contributions to women's history, the West, and Oklahoma. Amongst her works, she is best known for writing Women in Oklahoma, 1890-1920 and Trail Sisters, Freedwomen in Indian Territory, 1850-1890.
She was a wonderful wife and mother, and deeply loved by her family and friends. Her faith and her family were foundational to her. Through all of life's challenges, she worked unselfishly and tirelessly to maintain a stable, loving environment for her family.
Linda is survived by her 3 children, Brian Reese, Susan Oliver and husband Dean, Jim Reese and wife Brandy; her sisters, Rebecca Marie Williams, Jerri Ann Warden; and 10 grandchildren, Aaron, Allen, Megan, Ryan, Aubree, Ethan, Ainsley, Aiden, Zayne, and Addison. She was preceded in death by her loving husband, her parents, and brother, Jack Lancaster.
Funeral Services will be held at St. Stephen's United Methodist Church, 1801 W. Brooks, Norman, Oklahoma 73069 at 2 p.m. on Saturday, August 24, 2024.