Linda Bateman Downs died January 10, 2021.  She was born December 29, 1939, in Memphis, Tennessee.  She was the eldest daughter of the late Robert L. Bateman and Louise Bateman Penney.  She grew up in Paragould and attended Paragould Public Schools.  She went on to earn a degree in journalism at the University of Missouri.

Linda worked at several regional publications before she was hired by Life Magazine as Copy Editor.  She later moved to the position of Senior Editor at House Beautiful Magazine.  She briefly published Woman Time, a magazine advocating leadership for women.  After relocating to Atlanta, GA, she was a freelance author and copy editor.

Linda loved to travel, often as a guest of wine producers in Europe and South America, as well as the United States.

Following surgery for the removal of a meningioma brain tumor, Linda resided at Greene Acres Nursing Home in Paragould.

She is survived by her sisters Brenda Davis of Bonita, California, and Mary Ann Holifield of Paragould, and her three nephews, Brian, Michael, and James Holifield, and a niece, Clara Davis.

Due to the pandemic, no services are to be held now, and the family will gather for a memorial service at a future date.