Linda Moore

Waynesville, Linda Kay Smith Bell Moore, 69, passed on surrounded by loving family on Monday, July 2, at her home in Waynesville, North Carolina. Linda Kay was born November 6, 1942 in Murphy, North Carolina to Ethel Hamilton Smith and the late Pritchard C. Smith. She was a 1961 graduate of Waynesville Township High School. Linda Kay attended Western Carolina University and in 1967 graduated with honors from the University of Miami, Florida, with a BA in Education. In 1963 she married Paul Edgar Bell, Jr. who preceded her in death in 2003. Forty affectionate years of marriage found them in communities across the South and Midwest, including Memphis, Tennessee, Charlotte, North Carolina, and Fort Wayne, Indiana. In 2006 Linda Kay married F. Douglas Moore, and they spent six happy years at their home in Waynesville. Linda Kay taught elementary, middle and high school students for nearly thirty years and served as the founding Director of Advent Presbyterian Church's Mothers' Day Out in Memphis, Tennessee. She was a dedicated, lifelong Christian. She delighted in the beauty of the western North Carolina mountains and enjoyed cooking, gardening, reading, and bird watching. Linda Kay loved her dogs, Daisy and Bailey, and her greatest pleasure was spending time with her friends and her beloved family. She especially cherished and took deep pride in being a mother and grandmother. Linda Kay was preceded in death by her father, Pritchard C. Smith, as well as her first husband, Paul Edgar Bell, Jr. and his parents, Mary Ellen Willey Bell and Paul Edgar Bell of Waynesville. Linda Kay is survived by her husband F. Douglas Moore; her mother Ethel Hamilton Smith of Waynesville; sister Kathy Smith Franklin and brother-in-law Butch Franklin of Waynesville; daughter Dr. Alison Kay Bell, son-in-law Donald Arthur Gaylord, and grandchildren Whitman James Barefoot and Schuyler Bell Barefoot of Fishersville, Virginia; son Matthew Paul Bell, daughter-in-law Jackie Bell, and grandchildren Mitchell Jeffrey Bell and Adara Christina Bell of Avilla, Indiana; stepdaughter Kirki Fuller, son-in-law Steve Fuller, and grandson Harrison Fuller of Richmond, Virginia; daughter-in-law Melody McNeal Moore and granddaughter Mary Katherine Moore of Annapolis, Maryland, and stepson Webb Moore of Alexandria, Virginia. Linda Kay is also survived by her nephew, nieces and their families – Jason Pritchard Fulton, Shanna Fulton, Hagan Smith Fulton, Hannah Marie Fulton, Jenna Renae Fulton, Scott Yarbrough, and Jocelyn Marie Fulton – as well as an aunt, Katherine Hamilton Robinson, and many beloved cousins. Linda Kay greatly appreciated the kindness that her close and extended family, friends, caregivers, and neighbors showed her, particularly in the last months of her life. She asked that donations be considered to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital or to the National Autism Association. A graveside memorial service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, July 6 at Garrett-Hillcrest Memorial Park in Waynesville. Wells Funeral Home is coordinating services.

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