Linda Louise Eakin McCrady

Linda Louise Eakin McCrady of Jackson Township passed away Sunday.

Linda was born in 1943 at DePaul Hospital, Norfolk, Va., to the late Roy Mastin Eakin, who died in 1966, and Hazel Estelle Vaughan Eakin, who died in 1963. She was raised in Warrenton, Va., and lived there until 1964.

Linda graduated from Warrenton High School, where she was the senior class president in 1961. She then graduated from Southern Seminary Junior College in 1962, in Buena Vista, Va., and later attended the State University of New York at Buffalo.

While in college, Linda gave birth to a baby that she reluctantly gave up for adoption in 1964. She would later reconnect with her firstborn, who was named Deirdre Leigh Moore by her adoptive parents.

In November of 1964, Linda married James Hamilton McCrady IV of Oakmont, Pa., and became Linda Eakin McCrady. James and Linda were married for 11 years, and together, they had three boys, James Hamilton McCrady V, born in 1967; Christian Eakin McCrady, born in 1969; and Mitchell Phillips McCrady, born in 1971.

Linda McCrady was a fixture in the Pittsburgh real estate world, having been a sales agent and later sales manager for close to 40 years. She also worked at Raynor Doors in the North Hills area and finished up her working career at the Zelienople Area Public Library, where she also was very involved as a senior aide with the Zelienople Historical Society.

“Our hearts are broken. Our tough, outspoken, bold, beautiful Linda is gone.”

The smartest person in any room she was in, she unapologetically lived her life exactly how she wanted. As a voracious reader, a habit that had her working in the library both in college and in her later years, she was known to read six to 10 books in a week. Linda was never short on opinions or time to proudly brag about her kids.

Linda had a powerful impact on the people that knew her and the animals for whom she loved and cared for. She never tired of helping animals in need of food and shelter. Until the end, most of her money went to feeding and caring for both domesticated and feral cats, dogs and wildlife. She was a lifelong member and contributor to the World Wildlife Fund, the Humane Society and the ASPCA.

Linda Eakin McCrady will be missed by the myriad of people who she impacted throughout her lifetime, but not more so than her friends and family.

She is survived by her sister, Pattie Eakin of Gardiner, N.Y.; her daughter, Deirdre Moore Johnson of Charlottesville, Va.; her three sons, James Hamilton McCrady V, Christian Eakin McCrady and Mitchell Phillips McCrady, all of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; her cousins, Nancy Lukanich Cook and Frank Lukanich; and her four grandchildren, Melissa Ann McCrady, Phillip Christian McCrady, James Hamilton McCrady VI and Fiona Madelyn McCrady.

MCCRADY — Cremation services for Linda Louise Eakin McCrady, who died Sunday, March 5, 2017, have been entrusted to the Boylan Funeral Home, 324 E. Grandview Ave., Zelienople.In lieu of flowers, please donate to: https://www.gofundme.com/save-lindas-kitties.Expressions of sympathy may be shared with the family at www.boylanfuneralservices.com.