Des Moines resident Linda Guadiz, a devoted wife and cherished mother, grandmother and sister, left this life Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2006.

She was born June 27, 1944, in Atoka, Okla., the sixth of seven children, to Lee and Ruth (Woolard) Nevills.

She always said she went to college to get her MRS degree, but graduated from Oklahoma Christian College in 1966 with just a bachelor's degree in History.

After teaching middle school briefly in Topeka, Kan., she joined the Air Force in 1969 to see the world. Instead, she married a handsome young Captain Robert Guadiz of Kipu, Hawaii, four months after meeting him on a blind date. That union produced numerous moves, six children, and 35 years of marital harmony. During that time she filled the role of homemaker, mother, teacher, grandmother and friend.

Linda obeyed the gospel in her youth and never left that faith. Her delight was in the Lord, and she meditated on his law, day and night. She was a lifelong member of the Church of Christ, and a dear friend to her sisters and brothers in Christ at the Burien congregation.

Her love was for her family, and she was never so happy as when she was in the midst of it. Although a strict parent, whose expression of love was sometimes imperfect, her love itself was always true.

She treasured the simple things in life: beans and cornbread and buttermilk, orange cake, a good cup of tea, collecting silverplate, teapots, books, and watching A&E's Pride and Prejudice. She read voraciously, to herself or out loud, to whomever was in the room, and never left a crossword puzzle until it was at least halfway filled out. She loved singing the old hymns, and hearing her children sing them to her.

She will be missed dreadfully by all those who knew her. Our time with her was too short, but we were so blessed to have her as our own. We will meet her again in heaven.

She was preceded in death by her parents and a sister, Marjory Lee Drake.

She is survived by her husband, Robert Guadiz, of Des Moines; a son and daughter-in-law, Robert and Violet Guadiz and their children, Holly Gantt and Michael Guadiz, a daughter and son-in-law Sally and Josh Perkins and their son, Jacob Perkins, and sons Tyrone Guadiz and John Guadiz, all of Des Moines; and daughter and son-in-law Martha and James Manry and their sons, Jack and Woody Manry, and daughter Amanda Guadiz, all of Wichita, Kan.

She is also survived by siblings Fred and Joan Peck of Oklahoma City, Okla.; Joe and Betty Nevills of Crowder, Okla.; Tom and Janice Nevills of Wichita, Kan.; Gerald and Nancy Kinman of Keller, Texas; and Martha Allen of Memphis, Tenn.; and dozens of nieces and nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews.