Our beloved Mom and Grammie, Linda Lee McManus Huddleston, left this Earth peacefully on Thursday, May 19, 2016, in Littleton, Mass., surrounded by family, at the home of her daughter, Laurie, after a courageous battle with cancer.
Born on Friday, Aug. 11, 1939, at St. Joseph's Hospital, to Ruby W. (Martin) and Thomas J. McManus. She was baptized at St. Stanislaus Catholic Church in Lewiston on Oct. 1, 1940.
The family lived in the valley until Tom went to work in the shipyards in Portland during World War II. In the early 1950s, they returned to Clarkston, where Linda attended Holy Family Catholic School and graduated from Clarkston High School in 1957.
She attended Lewis-Clark Normal School (now Lewis-Clark State College) from 1957-59 and then taught middle school in Coos Bay, Ore., from 1959-61.
On July 15, 1961, Linda married Robert L. Huddleston at Holy Family Catholic Church in Clarkston. Linda and Bob made their home in Lewiston, where they raised their four children. Linda was a stay-at-home mom, and after all the kids were in school, she went back to LCSC and completed her bachelor's degree in education, graduating in 1972. She then did some substitute teaching, but her children and family were always her primary focus.
Mom was a wonderful athlete and excelled at any sport she tried: tennis, golf, basketball, softball - you name a sport and she knew how to play! In high school, she was All Regional Tennis Champion two years in a row. She played shortstop and later left field for Ervono's Pizza Women's Slow Pitch Softball team for many years, with Bob as coach and the kids in the stands cheering her on - it was a real family affair. The Ervono's team was very good and attended invitational softball tournaments around the state, and at least eight times we remember, Linda was named tournament Most Valuable Player. Later on, Linda loved to attend her children's activities and later her grandchildren's.
In 1990, Linda and Bob moved to Newport, Ore. Family loved to visit them at their home overlooking the ocean - and in July 2001, the family gathered to celebrate mom and dad's 40th anniversary.
After visiting Chinook Winds Casino in Lincoln County several times, Linda took a job there - working her way up to key person. She loved to visit with people, and everyone - both co-workers and customers - loved Linda. She kept in contact with many of them even after she moved across the country.
Linda and Bob divorced in 2004, and Linda moved to Massachusetts to be closer to her daughters and younger grandchildren in the east. It was then that mom became a world traveler, going to England, Wales and her beloved Ireland in 2008 with Lisa and Laurie. She also enjoyed many trips with her sister, Mary Ann and husband Barry to Austria, Germany, Scotland, Poland and Turkey. Mom never met a stranger on these trips; everyone was a friend.
Linda is survived by her sister, Mary Ann Fulton (Barry) of Chevy Chase, Md.; her four children, Lisa A. Huddleston of Lewiston, Douglas Huddleston (Kay) of Bradenton, Fla., Kathleen M. Huddleston (Alan Knaiger) of Longmont, Colo., and Laurie K. Cooney (John) of Littleton, Mass.; her nine grandchildren, Richard Huddleston and Christopher Huddleston, both of Lewiston, Sean Huddleston and Sara Huddleston of Bradenton, Jeremy Kniager and Vivien Kniager of Longmont, and Samuel Cooney, Robert Cooney and Mark Cooney, all of Littleton; and one great-grandson, Alexander Huddleston of Lewiston; nephews Stephen McManus (Laura) of Harrison, Ohio, David P. McManus of Florence, Ore., and Dave L. Huddleston of Hunnington Beach, Calif.; niece Catherine Walsh (Brendan) of Ridegewood, N.J.; and numerous cousins and friends.
Linda was preceded in death by her parents, Ruby and Tom; brothers David J. McManus and Stephen E. McManus; and sisters-in-law Georgianna McManus, Margaret McManas and Bonnie Huddleston Gay.
Rosary will be recited at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at St. Stanislaus Catholic Church, followed by the funeral Mass at 11 a.m. Burial will follow at Normal Hill Cemetery.
The family wishes to thank Care Dimensions Hospice in Massachusetts for giving all of us such great support and allowing mom to stay at Laurie's until she got her wings. And Acton Funeral Home in Acton, Mass., and Malcom's Brower Wann Funeral Home in Lewiston.
Memorial contributions can be made to Care Dimensions Hospice, St. Joseph Family Hospice, or the charity of your choice.
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