Linda Sue (Prevett) Gross

This past week we sadly said goodbye to Linda Sue Prevett Gross, a loving wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, and friend. Linda was called home to the Presence and Glory of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on November 21, 2023, in Dothan, Alabama.

Born on May 31, 1956, in Fayetteville, Tennessee, Linda was the daughter of the late Ulis Edward Prevett and Minnie Mae Conn Prevett. She was the sister of the late Larry Prevett (Debra Wright, Bisbee, Arizona). Her remaining family includes brothers and sister-in-law, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and cousins around the country who loved her dearly. Linda was married to her husband Bob Gross for 36 years and was mother to Elizabeth Joy Gross and Eric Gross (Elizabeth Lim Gross). She was also grandmother to Esther May Gross and was anticipating the arrival of another grandchild.

Linda's father's job took the family to Atlanta, Birmingham, and Memphis, where she attended Wooddale High School before earning a Bachelor's degree in Elementary Education from Union University in Jackson, Tennessee. Following her graduation, she worked in the Fort Worth/ Dallas, Texas area. In 1986 she met Bob, and they were married in 1987. Bob finished at Southwestern Baptist Seminary (Fort Worth) in 1988. Bob and Linda were then called to serve at First Baptist Church of Dothan, Alabama, where he recently retired after 35 years of ministry supported by his faithful wife.

Linda's temperament made her ideally suited to being a minister's wife. Linda ministered to people continually through the years. She served in the preschool area at church, teaching preschool choir, volunteering in the nursery, and caring for children for many years. She had the gift of encouraging others through her acts of service. As one person said, Linda would put herself at a disadvantage in order to help someone else.

Linda also loved to cook, having learned from her mother. During the holidays she loved baking cookies and other treats with her children to deliver to friends. She will be remembered most for her gourmet cupcakes she baked for many years. She called them Sweet Minnie's, named after her mother. She loved to deliver cupcakes to lift the spirits of someone who was having a hard time.

In recent years she worked as a private nanny for several families. All the families had boys, and she loved those boys like they were her own. In anticipation of the arrival of her first grandchild, she asked to be called "Shug" (short for 'Sugar'), a nickname given to her by her own father. Several of the boys she nannied also called her Shug, thinking of her as part of their own families.

Caring. Compassionate. Loving. Serving. Selfless. Insightful. Sweet. Steadfast. Patient. A faithful friend. Empathetic.

Her philosophy of serving is summed up so well in a quote she kept on a placard on the wall of her kitchen.

"A hundred years from now... it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove.... But the world might be a different because I was important in the life of a child."

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Linda Prevett Gross Perpetuity Fund for FBC Dothan Missions. The interest from this fund will be added to the FBC Dothan Missions Fund each year. Donations may be sent to The Baptist Foundation of Alabama in honor of Linda Gross where an account will be established to benefit the First Baptist Church Dothan Missions Fund. The address is: The Baptist Foundation of Alabama 7650 Halcyon Summit Drive Montgomery, Alabama 36117 or https://www.tbfa.org/gross/

A celebration of Linda's life will be held, at 11:00am in the sanctuary of First Baptist Church of Dothan, Saturday, December 2, 2023 with Dr. Taylor Rutland and Dr. Johnny Fain officiating. The family will be receiving friends the day prior, December 1, 2023, at First Baptist Church of Dothan from 5:00pm-7:00pm.

Sunset Memorial Park Funeral Home (334) 983-6604 www.SunsetMemorialPark.com