Linda Mathews Doise

Linda Gale Mathews Doise of Brookeland, Texas was born on June 3, 1946 to Mildred Estelle King Mathews and James Walton Shorty Mathews. After several eventful decades living her best life on Earth, she decided to depart on Wednesday, April 12th, 2023 for Heaven in order to pester the angels and saints and do some first-hand genealogy interviews.

She is survived by her husband of 55 years, Floyd; two sons, Allen and his wife Angie and their children Alyse and Addison of Lumberton; and Darren and his wife Rene and their children Corren and Jaxon of Fannett. She is also survived by numerous family members and friends and was preceded in death by her sister Edna Estelle Martin and her parents Mildred and James.

Linda was a longtime resident of Port Arthur. She met Floyd when she was nine-years old and they became friends. The friendship blossomed over the years into love and the two of them were married August 12^th, 1968. From that point forward, Floyd noted that they were inseparable and loved each other to the end.

She graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in 1964 and later attended Port Arthur College. After college she started a career with the FBI in Washington DC as a fingerprint specialist where she worked on many high-profile cases and even met J. Edgar Hoover; at times giving him tips on women’s fashion of the day. Upon her return to Southeast Texas, she worked at Mid-Jefferson Hospital in Nederland for several years.

She was a loving, caring, and doting mother to her two sons Allen and Darren. Often taking them to Pleasure Island so they could fish, which allowed her to indulge herself in one of her many passions, creating art from items found on the seashore. She was active in the PTA, was a homeroom mom, and a den mother for the cub scouts. Another of her passions was genealogy and over the years she traced the family trees of both her family and Floyd’s back several generations. Her skills were renowned in field and many family members, friends, and strangers sought out her expertise to help them learn of their heritage.

Throughout her life Linda was a caring person who never met a stranger; and being blessed with the gift of gab, would carry on conversations with everyone she met. Being the mother of two rambunctious boys meant that most days there were several of their friends at the house and each one of the boy’s friends were treated as her own. Dinnertime was a monumental affair as she made sure that each and every visitor was fed and no one left the house hungry.

She was an active mother and involved in all of her children’s activities. As they grew older and started to branch out on their own, she never let them forget who was boss and relished using her FBI surveillance training along with her innate mommy-ninja skills to surprise them at every occasion and remind them that she was always watching. Weekends were challenging for the two boys as they tried to skirt their curfew only to be caught in the act sneaking back into the house late at night. As Allen noted, “Just when we thought we were safe and had made it back in without them noticing, she’d pop out of the shadows and catch us. It was like she had been waiting to spring the trap for hours. There was no way to get by her.”

Linda was one of the most patriotic people that you would ever meet. She supported the troops and loved her country to a degree that would make Uncle Sam jealous. Her home and yard were often decorated with the red, white, and blue and yellow ribbons were tied to every tree on the property. Her patriotism was so great that she was featured in local newspapers and television news and named the “Flag Lady” for her patriotic displays.

Her passion for creating art extended to sourcing what Floyd referred to as “junk” which was then transformed by her creative eye and hands into works of art. Being her lifelong partner-in-crime, Floyd was tasked with being the manual labor and gopher in procuring the materials needed for her talent to flourish. “We’d be driving along on a road trip and all of a sudden she’d make me stop the truck because she spotted something next to or in a dumpster. She’d stand there directing me while I dumpster dived to get some mess someone threw out. Then she’d take it home and make the most amazing art pieces out of that junk.” Floyd stated.

She was vocal and opinionated throughout her life and that extended through to the end. She had two final demands regarding her final arrangements. One was that she was not to be placed in a “damn box and definitely not some six-hundred dollar urn”, also it should be noted that she passed on her son’s suggestion that perhaps a ziploc bag would work. To which she responded. “Go to the store, buy a container of those Quaker Oats, dump out the oats and put me in there.” Quaker Oats declined the request to sponsor the funeral service.

Her second demand was that her family and friends enjoy themselves at her service. No tears or sadness. Instead, all will gather sometime in June (once the dust has settled) for an old-fashioned hootenanny at a location to be determined. If you don’t get an invite, then blame the boys, Linda would have wanted you there.

Her cremation arrangements were handled through Broussard’s Crematorium under the direction of Broussard’s, 1605 North Major Drive, Beaumont.

The family would like to extend a special thanks to the medical teams and staff at Jasper Memorial and Harbor Hospice for the care given to Linda in her final days. She looks forward to seeing all of you in the next life (some sooner than later).

In lieu of flowers, a donation can be made to the Southwest Louisiana Genealogical and Historical Society (411 Pujo Street, Lake Charles, LA 70601) or a charity of your choice.