Linda Maddox Bailey

On Tuesday, August 11, 2026, Linda Lavon Maddox Bailey, age 83, passed away in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. Linda was born in Searcy, Arkansas on January 17, 1943, the only child of James Dodson and Mildred Patterson Maddox. Her parents raised cattle and ran a small country store. Linda grew up in the suburbs of Rose Bud, Arkansas, where she attended school and lettered in basketball, graduating from Rose Bud High School in 1960. She was honored by being named Miss White County. An accomplished seamstress, Linda won the National Singer Sewing Machine "Make it Yourself with Wool" award. She graduated from Arkansas State Teachers College in Conway, AR, where she was a member of Alpha Sigma Tau Sorority and was voted Best Dressed Coed. Her major was Home Economics. During her Junior year, she met David Bailey at the 1962 Valentine's Dance. They were married in Rosebud, Arkansas in 1964. After their graduations, David went to work for Phillips Petroleum Company, and they settled in Bartlesville, Okla. Linda taught in Ochelata and at Ranch Heights School in Bartlesville, and was an Adult Program Coordinator for the Bartlesville YWCA. She most enjoyed being a homemaker. Together, Linda and David raised two children, Michael David and Jennifer Anne. Linda was very active in the Bartlesville First United Methodist Church and in the Crossroads small group. She enjoyed her volunteer activities in Service League, Community Concert, PEO, and Civic Ballet. She was a member of several bridge clubs and book clubs. Linda loved to travel. After David retired in 1992, they vacationed in over 110 countries and visited all seven continents. Linda and David celebrated 62 years of marriage. Linda hosted twenty-plus Thanksgivings for David's large family. She planned the menu weeks in advance using family recipes and executed the production for Thanksgiving dinners at her home in Bartlesville. Linda was a superb cook and hostess and enjoyed entertaining friends and family. She was meticulous, tending to every detail. Linda loved her cats. Her family and extended family were very special to Linda, including son, Mike, and daughter-in-law Sichai Wong Bailey, and granddaughters Rachel Sarah Bailey and Lily Anne Bailey of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and daughter, Jennifer and son-in-law Fabiano Varella Garcia, or, very fittingly, Fab., of Highlands Ranch, Colorado. Linda will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved her. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to: Bartlesville First United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 3636, Bartlesville, OK 74006-3636; Tuesday House/Heart Matters, Inc. 327 South Penn, Bartlesville, OK 74003; or Animal Rescue Foundation of Bartlesville, P.O. Box 3292, Bartlesville, OK 74006. A Celebration of Life Service will be held at the Bartlesville First United Methodist Church on Tuesday, August 18 at 10 AM. Arrangements are under the direction of Carter Davis and the Davis Family Funeral Home & Crematory – Walker Brown Chapel, 4201 Nowata Rd., Bartlesville, OK 74006. Online condolences and remembrances may be shared at www.DavisFamilyFuneralHome.com

Linda Maddox Bailey

January 17, 1943 - August 11, 2026