Linda Ruth Roder

Linda Ruth Roder passed on to meet her Lord on July 29, 2023, in Lake City, Florida. She was 64 years old. Linda was born Linda Ruth Becker in Middletown, Ohio on November 2, 1958. As a "preemie," Linda weighed only 2 lbs, 8 oz. Neonatal ICUs did not become common until 1960; babies with Linda's weight did not often survive--but Linda was a determined little infant.

As a child, Linda was fortunate to grow up on a 32-acre Wyoming farm with a creek running through it. Some of her fondest childhood memories included fishing and rafting in the creek, riding bikes and horses down country roads, and picking wild asparagus. She raised orphan lambs for her 4-H project, and developed a love for gardening, and for the outdoors and nature.

Linda attended high school in Worland, Wyoming where she ran on the cross country team. She also attended Sioux Falls and Madison colleges in South Dakota.

At age 25, Linda married Raymond Roder of Sioux Falls, South Dakota in 1983. They lived in Sioux Falls for several years before relocating to Lake City, Florida in 1988.

When Linda eventually became a single mom, she chose to have a small rural home built, so that her young children could enjoy the country upbringing she had come to love. She planted fruit trees and a garden, raised chickens, and later provided a home there for her precious kitties.

Linda enjoyed many interests and skills, Including gardening, cooking and baking (her pies were awesome!). She also enjoyed handcrafting beautiful silver jewelry.

Linda decided to invest in real estate--she taught herself to be a landlord, and to manage her properties. She proved to be a role model for her siblings, who later followed her into real estate investing themselves.

She later blazed a trail for herself when she decided to become an entrepreneur. She created her own business in 2004, providing business permitting services for local builders. She ran a successful business for a number of years before the building industry went into recession in early 2009.

As a woman of faith, Linda never hesitated to pray with commitment for the things she needed. During tough times, she worried about paying the bills. She would pray fervently, and somehow, some way, God would unfailingly answer her prayer.

Later in life, Linda became a professional caregiver. In addition to caring for and supporting her own mom, she carefully and kindly looked after several elderly patients as they neared the end of their lives. After her retirement, Linda enjoyed and found peace traveling the mountainous areas of Wyoming and North Carolina.

Linda caught the travel bug in mid-life, and with her faithful travel partner, Andrea, she traveled off-season to many far-flung locations, experiencing new cities and cultures. Some of her favorite countries included Amsterdam, Italy, and Austria.

Linda felt her greatest accomplishment was raising her children well as a single mom with limited means. She was a loving, caring mom who used a firm hand when necessary. She was grateful to have lived long enough to see her kids, Mellanie and Kenny, become happy, resourceful, and successful adults.

Family and friends enjoyed Linda's dry, sarcastic wit--She could be depended upon to provide a razor sharp comment with perfect timing. She had an easy smile and a warm laugh, and was always ready to provide a helping hand to another person in need.

Linda was a loving mother, sister, wife, grandmother, aunt, and friend. She was preceded in death by her mother, Jane O. Becker. She is survived by her father, William R. Becker and his wife, Glenda of Harrisburg, PA, by her sister, Rebecca Krell and her husband Randy, of Columbia, SC, by her brother, William C. Becker and his wife Kim, of Lake City, FL, and by Raymond Roder, the father of her children. She is survived by her children, Mellanie Roder of New York City, NY, and Kenny Roder of Lake City, FL. She is also survived by her granddaughter, Angel, by her many nieces and nephews, and by her good friends.

A ceremony to honor the life of Ms. Roder will be held on Saturday, August 12th, at 2:00 pm in the Chapel of Guerry Funeral Home- Lake City.

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