Always remembered for her beautiful smile and unwavering faith in God, Linda Lou Cille Murdock was known to family and friends for her love of interior design, arts and crafts, and summers at the family’s ranch near Dubois, Wyoming. She was quick-witted, thoughtful and kind, which made her a favorite not only with her employers and adult friends but especially with her immediate and extended family.
Born July 25, 1942, at her grandmother Elsie Moreland’s farmhouse near Bushong, Kansas, Linda was the youngest daughter of Chester and Doris Frederick. She was 81 years old when she passed away peacefully, surrounded by family, on January 23, 2024, at The Cedars Special Care Unit, McPherson, Kansas.
As a little girl growing up near Emporia, Kansas, she loved catching minnows in the little creek running near her country home and disappearing with her little dog Mitzy into outdoor adventures. Her Mother and Father instilled in her the sense that with dedication anything could be accomplished. When Linda was 12 her father died suddenly, leaving her mother alone to raise three girls. The sisters- Mary, Karen, and Linda- were inseparable in childhood and maintained that bond throughout life.
After graduating from Emporia High School in 1960, Linda spent two years studying mathematics and business administration at Emporia State University. She was a bright student. With her magnetic personality, business skills, and the ability to do math in her head, in 1967, she landed a job with Anadarko Production Company and Panhandle Eastern Pipe Line Company in Liberal, Kansas. This began her professional career which lasted more than 20 years with increasing responsibilities that culminated when she became the first female Gas Buyer for the company at the Kansas City, Missouri, headquarters.
In 1982, while on board one of the company’s jets to a conference in Tulsa, Oklahoma, she met the love of her life, Robert Murdock who was attending the same meeting. Linda and Bob dated until their marriage on December 24, 1983, in Emporia, Kansas. Their son, Chase Harrison Murdock, was born the next year.
No other event in Linda’s life gave her so much joy as the arrival of her son. She quickly and eagerly transitioned from professional businesswoman to awesome stay-at-home mom, dedicating herself completely to being the best and most loving mother Chase could possibly have had. She headed PTOs and led auxiliaries to support his academic and extracurricular endeavors.
Growing up, Linda learned from her mother how to sew. As a mother herself, she enjoyed making clothing for Chase, including a dinosaur Halloween costume that was the envy every kid who saw it. When she was a little girl, Linda saw her father build and fix everything around the house. As an adult, she literally became a homemaker, remodeling and redecorating each of her family’s homes, including making window treatments and re-upholstering furniture. Her homes were always impeccably designed.
After Chase was born, Linda’s summers were dedicated to being with Bob’s family near Dubois, Wyoming, where his parents, John and Jean Murdock, lived on the family’s historic cattle ranch. Every year she would pack up the family and drive to the ranch, where she adapted perfectly to the rustic western life along Torrey Lake at the base of Whiskey Mountain. Bob’s parents loved Linda as their own daughter. She became his mother’s best friend. Whether cooking meals in Dutch ovens or re-chinking the hundred-year-old log cabins, she was always busy sharing her skills and can-do attitude with her new family.
Linda had a full and beautiful life. She inspired all who knew and worked with her, not only because she lived joyfully and humbly, but because she was a pillar of strength when facing life’s challenges.
She was preceded in death by her parents.
She is survived by: her sisters Karen (Steve) Schaefer, and Mary (Van) Lett; uncle Larry W. Moreland; husband Robert Murdock; and son Chase (Kathleen) Murdock.
A memorial service to celebrate Linda’s amazing life will be held later this Spring. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to The Cedars-Special Care Unit in care of Elliott Mortuary, 1219 N. Main, Hutchinson, KS, 67501.