Linda Joy Tillman Climer, 82, died Thursday night, July 17, 2025, at Williamson Medical Center in Franklin, Tennessee, after receiving loving care for several years at Franklin’s Mulberry Health & Rehabilitation Center (formerly Claiborne & Hughes Skilled Nursing & Rehabilitation Center). Her family thanks Mulberry’s residents and caregivers for being a loving family for those that cannot remember their own.
A private memorial service for the family will be held at Asbury United Methodist Church Cemetery in Ripley, Tennessee. Garner Funeral Home has charge of the burial service. A celebration of her life is planned for Saturday, August 23, at Ripley Church of Christ. Visitation is from 10:00 am-11:00 am, followed by the service at 11:00.
Mrs. Climer was born May 30, 1943, in Ripley to Hollis Wesson Tillman and Lucille Mills Tillman. She graduated from Ripley High School in 1961, where Mrs. Climer was Homecoming Queen and FFA Sweetheart. She fell in love with Tommy Climer upon his return to Ripley from Ole Miss in 1961, and after their first date at the Mid-South Fair in Memphis, they married on February 23, 1962, at Ripley Church of Christ. They remained devoted sweethearts for nearly 61 years of marriage, until his death on January 3, 2023.
The young family moved to Memphis, then Nashville, later settling in Southaven, Mississippi. In addition to a primary role as homemaker, Mrs. Climer worked in several administration jobs in business, including corporate headquarters in Memphis at Holiday Inn and Baptist Memorial Hospital. She continued to work in office administration roles in later moves to both Jackson, Mississippi and New Orleans, Louisiana. Mrs. Climer’s graciousness and thoughtfulness served her well in executive administration roles, where she was known as a devoted friend and confidante.
She was active in churches in all the communities in which she lived, primarily at Holmes Road Church of Christ in Memphis and at Ripley Church of Christ. Mrs. Climer served God alongside her husband in their home, church, and community.
In her later years in Lauderdale County, Mr. and Mrs. Climer loved to deliver “Meals on Wheels” to shut-ins among other kind gestures to the less fortunate. She loved working with children, whether it was teaching a Bible class for 4-year-olds, supporting foster children, serving as an after-school literacy advocate for at-risk children, or as a beloved assistant in Lauderdale County primary schools. Mrs. Climer was a beloved mother, grandmother, and aunt to her extended family, and loved the beautiful rural sunsets of Tennessee and Mississippi.
She was preceded in death by her parents, husband, and three brothers, Benny Tillman, Hilton Tillman, and Roger Tillman. Survivors include her son Tim Climer and his wife Stacy of Ridgeland, Mississippi; daughter, Lori Hanna and husband Earl of Franklin, Tennessee; five grandchildren, Barrett Climer Wilson (Beau), Anne Marie Hanna, Abbey Climer Tobermann (Will), Alden Climer, and Conrad Hanna; a great-grandson, Thomas Wilson; two sisters, June Bates of Ripley and Janie Sweat of Halls; and a brother, Danny Ray Tillman of Ripley. Mrs. Climer also leaves many nieces, nephews, other relatives, and many friends.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to Ripley Church of Christ, P.O. Box 464, Ripley, Tennessee 38063, Asbury United Methodist Church Cemetery Fund, P.O. Box 238, Ripley, Tennessee 38063, or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, Tennessee 38105.
