Linda Sue (South) Durrett passed unexpectedly at her home on Thursday, February 12, 2026. She was a cherished mother, grandmother, and friend whose presence will be deeply missed.
Linda was born in Blountsville, Alabama to parents, Mildred and Womack Lloyd South. She graduated from J.B. Pennington High School and studied bookkeeping at a business school. Her career brought her to Huntsville where she met her future husband, Clay, and where both worked at Spacecraft Incorporated (SCI). She then moved to Northrop Grumman where she continued working in the accounting field until her nuptials at First Baptist Church in 1968. Years later, Clay started Seven Systems, Inc. and she became the business’s bookkeeper until he passed in 2000.
Newly widowed, she doted on her first grandchild, Porter, and then the other grandchildren who followed. “Nana Playdates” often involved playing in the creek hunting for critters to rehouse in the backyard pond and sharing her love of books by reading stories cuddled up with them.
Active in her community, she joined Huntsville’s choral group, Community Chorus, and Women’s Christian Fellowship. As a long-standing member of Whitesburg Baptist Church, she served as a youth Sunday School teacher, formed a beautiful trio group which included herself, Dottie Madison, and Ann Driver, and sang in the choir, including the annual July 4th treat, the Living Flag.
After 2000, she moved her membership to First Baptist Church where she sang in the choir, including annual holiday event, the Living Christmas Tree. A good community steward, she also volunteered and tutored at Lincoln Village’s after school program.
She is preceded in death by her parents, Womack and Mildred South; her husband, Clay Sheffield Durrett, Jr.; her older sister, Carolyn (South) Adcock and her husband, Max; her brother-in-law, Charles Reed, Sr. and nephew, Charles Reed, Jr.
She is survived by her son, Clay Sheffield Durrett, III (Alyson); her daughter, Melissa (Heath) Goebel; her grandchildren: Bryson, Alex, CJ, Porter (Emma McNeely), Harper (Spencer Laue), and Garner (Elizabeth Shockley); her sister-in-law, Dorothy (Durrett) Reed; niece Dottie (Reed) Peters; and nephews, Scott and Jason Adcock.
The funeral will be at First Baptist Church in Huntsville, Alabama on Friday, February 20, 2026. Visitation will be at 12:00 noon. The service will be at 1:00 PM. She will be interred at Maple Hill Cemetery immediately following the service.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to The American Heart Association or Lincoln Village.
