Linda Fay Knight Norman, 78, died Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2020 at Sanctuary Hospice House. Linda was a delightful soul whose sterling personality greeted everyone with good cheer. She spent her entire life in the hospitality industry. Linda and her late husband, Jimmy Norman, owned the Country Squire Restaurant in Iuka for thirty-five years. They brought their unique way of service in the food industry to Tupelo and opened Country Squire in Tupelo on Veterans Blvd. She spent the last 7 years as a hostess and queen of the salad bar at Driskell’s Fish and Steak House in Plantersville. She and Jimmy took great pride in the young people they employed over the years and mentored them into adulthood with skilled guidance and advice. Linda was born December 25, 1941 in Monroe County, Mississippi, the only child of Russell Knight and Trudy Scribner Knight. She grew up in the San Francisco area while her father was in the military and graduated from Richmond High School in Richmond, Calif. She married Jimmy Norman, a Californian, on Dec. 14, 1958, and returned to this area in 1975, where she worked hard to make Jimmy a grateful “Southerner.” An Eastern Star, she was a faithful member of East Heights Baptist Church in Tupelo. Linda loved her children, grandchildren, shopping, and making others happy.
A graveside service celebrating her life will be held at 4 PM Friday, September 11, 2020 at the Liberty Cemetery east of Nettleton. Burial will follow in the Knight family plot next to Jimmy. The Rev. Dr. Tim Brown will officiate. There will be no public visitation and the family asks that all who attend follow Covid-19 guidelines, especially on wearing a mask. Holland Funeral Directors is honored to serve their friends.
Linda is survived by her sons, Freddy Norman (Ashley) of Tupelo, and Rusty Norman (Kathie) of Burnsville, and daughter, Penny Norman Smith (David) of Mooreville; and six grandchildren, Ryan Barnett, Devin Norman, Collin Norman, Alexandria Norman, Lainee Smith, and Briar Mills. She was preceded in death by her husband, Jimmy, who died January 21, 2016, her parents and other family members.
Memorials may be made to Sanctuary Hospice House, P. O. Box 2177, Tupelo, MS 38803, or to East Heights Baptist Church, 207 Lake St., Tupelo, MS 38804. Expressions of love to the family may be emailed to hollandfuneraldirectors@comcast.net.
