Linda Means, age 77, passed away on Sunday, November 3, 2019 at Haywood Regional Medical Center.
Linda Pearson Means spent thirteen years of her life in her beloved mountains, having first fallen in love with them as a teen competing in Highland dancing matches at Grandfather Mountain.
A native of Fayetteville, North Carolina, where the Highland dancing culture was very strong, she grew up immersed in her Scottish heritage, with a love for music, singing, and dancing instilled at home around the piano with her mother and her sisters, Miriam and Merel.
Her parents, Thelma and Charles Pearson encouraged their outgoing daughter to question the world and make her own way in life, grounded in their firm Methodist faith. It didn’t surprise anyone who knew her well that she became the first young woman to wear shorts in her town, donning them in order to act as a summer counselor to children at a local park.
Her call to work with children started young, when as early as her sixth year, she gathered even younger neighborhood children to teach them Bible stories and help them learn scripture. Her official career as a teacher began at age 21 after graduating from Greensboro College, and lasted 43 years, during which time she also completed a Masters Degree in Special Education from Arizona State University.
Her teaching career spanned every age group, and her unofficial ministry continued post-retirement when she contributed to after school programs and Sunday schools in the Waynesville area, as well as in Brevard. In her later years, when she retired more fully from teaching, Linda continued to be a dedicated Biblical scholar and to testify to the power of prayer in ministering to others.
Linda also had a passion for travel and for fostering understanding between cultures, and her journeys took her throughout Europe and the Middle East, generating many memorable stories which she continued to share with her students and family throughout her life.
Linda is survived by four children, Christina Heidt, Aaron Wesley Means, Hannah Means-Shannon, and Matthew Means, and by three grandchildren, George Heidt, Corinne Heidt, and Erin O’Brien. Her dedication in ministering to the lives of her children and grandchildren has made a spiritual impact on them that will never be forgotten.
A memorial service is planned with details to be announced later.
Linda Pearson Means spent thirteen years of her life in her beloved mountains, having first fallen in love with them as a teen competing in Highland dancing matches at Grandfather Mountain.
A native of Fayetteville, North Carolina, where the Highland dancing culture was very strong, she grew up immersed in her Scottish heritage, with a love for music, singing, and dancing instilled at home around the piano with her mother and her sisters, Miriam and Merel.
Her parents, Thelma and Charles Pearson encouraged their outgoing daughter to question the world and make her own way in life, grounded in their firm Methodist faith. It didn’t surprise anyone who knew her well that she became the first young woman to wear shorts in her town, donning them in order to act as a summer counselor to children at a local park.
Her call to work with children started young, when as early as her sixth year, she gathered even younger neighborhood children to teach them Bible stories and help them learn scripture. Her official career as a teacher began at age 21 after graduating from Greensboro College, and lasted 43 years, during which time she also completed a Masters Degree in Special Education from Arizona State University.
Her teaching career spanned every age group, and her unofficial ministry continued post-retirement when she contributed to after school programs and Sunday schools in the Waynesville area, as well as in Brevard. In her later years, when she retired more fully from teaching, Linda continued to be a dedicated Biblical scholar and to testify to the power of prayer in ministering to others.
Linda also had a passion for travel and for fostering understanding between cultures, and her journeys took her throughout Europe and the Middle East, generating many memorable stories which she continued to share with her students and family throughout her life.
Linda is survived by four children, Christina Heidt, Aaron Wesley Means, Hannah Means-Shannon, and Matthew Means, and by three grandchildren, George Heidt, Corinne Heidt, and Erin O’Brien. Her dedication in ministering to the lives of her children and grandchildren has made a spiritual impact on them that will never be forgotten.
A memorial service is planned with details to be announced later.
Linda Means, age 77, passed away on Sunday, November 3, 2019 at Haywood Regional Medical Center.
Linda Pearson Means spent thirteen years of her life in her beloved mountains, having first fallen in love with them as a teen competing in Highland dancing matches at Grandfather Mountain.
A native of Fayetteville, North Carolina, where the Highland dancing culture was very strong, she grew up immersed in her Scottish heritage, with a love for music, singing, and dancing instilled at home around the piano with her mother and her sisters, Miriam and Merel.
Her parents, Thelma and Charles Pearson encouraged their outgoing daughter to question the world and make her own way in life, grounded in their firm Methodist faith. It didn’t surprise anyone who knew her well that she became the first young woman to wear shorts in her town, donning them in order to act as a summer counselor to children at a local park.
Her call to work with children started young, when as early as her sixth year, she gathered even younger neighborhood children to teach them Bible stories and help them learn scripture. Her official career as a teacher began at age 21 after graduating from Greensboro College, and lasted 43 years, during which time she also completed a Masters Degree in Special Education from Arizona State University.
Her teaching career spanned every age group, and her unofficial ministry continued post-retirement when she contributed to after school programs and Sunday schools in the Waynesville area, as well as in Brevard. In her later years, when she retired more fully from teaching, Linda continued to be a dedicated Biblical scholar and to testify to the power of prayer in ministering to others.
Linda also had a passion for travel and for fostering understanding between cultures, and her journeys took her throughout Europe and the Middle East, generating many memorable stories which she continued to share with her students and family throughout her life.
Linda is survived by four children, Christina Heidt, Aaron Wesley Means, Hannah Means-Shannon, and Matthew Means, and by three grandchildren, George Heidt, Corinne Heidt, and Erin O’Brien. Her dedication in ministering to the lives of her children and grandchildren has made a spiritual impact on them that will never be forgotten.
A memorial service is planned with details to be announced later.
Linda Pearson Means spent thirteen years of her life in her beloved mountains, having first fallen in love with them as a teen competing in Highland dancing matches at Grandfather Mountain.
A native of Fayetteville, North Carolina, where the Highland dancing culture was very strong, she grew up immersed in her Scottish heritage, with a love for music, singing, and dancing instilled at home around the piano with her mother and her sisters, Miriam and Merel.
Her parents, Thelma and Charles Pearson encouraged their outgoing daughter to question the world and make her own way in life, grounded in their firm Methodist faith. It didn’t surprise anyone who knew her well that she became the first young woman to wear shorts in her town, donning them in order to act as a summer counselor to children at a local park.
Her call to work with children started young, when as early as her sixth year, she gathered even younger neighborhood children to teach them Bible stories and help them learn scripture. Her official career as a teacher began at age 21 after graduating from Greensboro College, and lasted 43 years, during which time she also completed a Masters Degree in Special Education from Arizona State University.
Her teaching career spanned every age group, and her unofficial ministry continued post-retirement when she contributed to after school programs and Sunday schools in the Waynesville area, as well as in Brevard. In her later years, when she retired more fully from teaching, Linda continued to be a dedicated Biblical scholar and to testify to the power of prayer in ministering to others.
Linda also had a passion for travel and for fostering understanding between cultures, and her journeys took her throughout Europe and the Middle East, generating many memorable stories which she continued to share with her students and family throughout her life.
Linda is survived by four children, Christina Heidt, Aaron Wesley Means, Hannah Means-Shannon, and Matthew Means, and by three grandchildren, George Heidt, Corinne Heidt, and Erin O’Brien. Her dedication in ministering to the lives of her children and grandchildren has made a spiritual impact on them that will never be forgotten.
A memorial service is planned with details to be announced later.
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