Linda Gale Kelly was born on July 15, 1957, to Charles Wayne and Marcella Ackley. The oldest of eight children, Linda learned early what it meant to love, protect, and care for the people around her—something that would become the very foundation of the life she built.

Linda married the love of her life, John Wayne Kelly, on September 28, 1975, and together they built a life centered around family. She dedicated herself to loving her husband, raising children, and creating a home where there was always room for one more.

And that may be the simplest way to describe Linda: she spent her life loving so many people, and loving them well.

Her family was never limited by blood or by a last name. If Linda loved you, you were hers. Over the years, she opened her heart and her home to countless children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, cousins, friends, and people who simply needed somewhere to belong. Some she raised, some she helped raise, and some she simply loved so fiercely that they became family along the way. There are people near and far who carry a piece of Linda with them because, at some point in their lives, she made sure they knew they were loved.

After a long and incredibly hard-fought battle with cancer, Linda passed away August 18, 2026, in Bryan, Texas, surrounded by the people who loved her. She fought with strength for as long as she could, and when that fight was finished, she left this life wrapped in the same thing she had spent a lifetime giving to everyone else—love.

Linda is survived by her beloved husband, John Wayne Kelly; her children, Jannette Sanders, Wayne and Raven Kelly, Tracie Kelly, and Joe Love; and her grandchildren, Ethen Kelly, Katerina Kelly, Alexus Love, Mary Sanders, Elijah Kelly, Kaylie Kelly, JoLynn Kelly, and Dawsyn Kelly.

She also leaves behind her great-grandchildren, Leilani McElroy and Oaklynn Harrell, who will grow up surrounded by the stories, love, and legacy of the woman who came before them.

Linda is also survived by her siblings, Susan Mitchell and Karl, Beth Morton, Debra Ackley, Punkin Ackley, and Ramona, along with many, many cousins, nieces, nephews, extended family members, friends, and loved ones near and far. There are simply too many people whose lives she touched to ever fit into one obituary—and that, perhaps, says more about Linda’s life than any list of names ever could.

While her absence leaves an immeasurable space here, there is comfort in imagining the reunion waiting for her.

Linda is rejoicing in Heaven with her parents, Charles Wayne and Marcella Ackley; her daughter, Dana Love; her son-in-love, James Preston “PJ” Sanders; her grandchildren, Brianna, Trevor, and Raven Sanders; her siblings, Connie Ackley, Diane Cantu, Kenneth Ackley, and David Ackley; and the many other loved ones who went before her.

For those left behind, Linda’s story does not end with her passing.

It continues in every child she helped raise, every person she welcomed as her own, every family gathering made louder because she was there, every story that begins with her name, and every person who learned something about love simply because they were lucky enough to receive hers.

Linda Gale Kelly spent a lifetime making sure no one she loved ever felt like anything less than hers, and the love of Jesus.

And she will be loved, remembered, talked about, laughed about, cried over, and deeply missed for generations to come.

A funeral service to celebrate Linda Kelly will be held 2 P.M., Saturday, September 5, 2026, at Bethel Baptist Church, Buffalo, Texas.  The service will be officiated by Bro. Ray Grissett.  Interment will follow in Russell Cemetery.  A brief visitation will take place from 1 P.M. to service time, also at the church.  

Arrangements are under the direction of Walters' Buffalo Funeral Home, Buffalo, Texas -- A Walters Family Funeral Home.