Linda Gale Chapman (Estes), known to her garden of family and friends as NeNe, has, at the sprightly age of 79, decided to take her love for nature walks to the celestial level on March 8, 2024.
Born on November 16,1944, in Dowelltown, TN, she planted her roots deep and grew into a towering figure of love, laughter, and selflessness. Back in her Liberty High School days, Linda was not just a chapter in the yearbook, but the whole story—FHA star, treasurer, choir songbird, basketball player, and the senior voted most likely to brighten your day with a smile. Her senior quote, “ask me no questions and I’ll tell you no lies,” was her playful wink to a life lived with honesty and a dash of mischief.
Her family tree continues to grow, with branches extending through her beloved children Cathy Kilgore, Stephen Gregory, Chastity Chapman and Jason Chapman, and further into the leaves of her grandchildren Rousha, Kayla, Cody, Cayden, Tavia, Jathen, Kobe, Carrigan, Rheagan and Spencer, and the buds of her great-grandchildren Cain, Riley, Presley, Carmen, Melanie, Axel, Memphis, Evi, and Lincoln. Linda’s life was a bouquet of memories and love, though she has now joined her late mother Anna R Hunt/ Estes, father Sam R Estes, daughter Melanie L Cantrell and best friend Ruby in the eternal garden.
Linda’s zest for life was evergreen. She was an avid gardener, sowing seeds of joy with every bloom. She devoured books like a caterpillar with an appetite for knowledge, and she stitched warmth into the quilt of her community with her love for sewing. Her kitchen was a haven of home cooked delights, her canning jars capturing the essence of the seasons and family gatherings and her walks with nature were the breath of fresh air we all needed.
While she may have practiced her Baptist faith quietly at home, her spirit was anything but silent. Her faith was as personal as her prayer garden, and she practiced it with the devotion of a saint and the privacy of a hermit.
As for her grand exit, Linda has left behind the pomp in favor of a future celebration of life, where memories will be shared like her prized preserves—sweet, cherished, and full of love. For now, let’s imagine Linda’s in a place where the flowers bloom year-round, the animals can talk, and every book ends with “happily ever after.” Linda “NeNe” Chapman continues in the laughter and lives of those she’s nurtured—a true perennial spirit in the hearts of her beloveds.
Smithville Review
(Smithville, Tenn.)
March 20, 2024
