Linda A

Austin

Linda A. Austin, 72, of Burlington, died November 7, 2026, at her home, with her loyal companion, Hank the Basset, by her side. She was born May 6, 1954, in El Dorado to Ernest and Delores (Hill) Calvert, and graduated from Circle High School in Towanda in 1972.

Linda devoted much of her life to caring for her home, her husband, Stephen, and their two children, Shauna and Chad. But that alone would leave out so much of the woman her son often called a Renaissance woman.

Above all, Linda loved to be with her people. She was a constant, steady presence in the lives of those she loved, fully present with them, and always looking for ways to care for and serve others.

Music ran through all of her life. Linda's love of musical theater began at Circle High, and after graduation she studied music theory for a time at Saint Mary's. She sang regularly in those years, including with a band, which is how she met Stephen: he walked into a bar where she was singing. They married on August 2, 1975, and shared almost 50 years together before Stephen passed away on March 10, 2025.

Through the 1980s, while raising Shauna and Chad, Linda kept performing. She spent several summers at the Vassar Playhouse and sang at countless weddings, funerals and public events. In the 1990s, once Shauna began singing too, mother and daughter performed together constantly, with Chad joining in along the way. In community theater, Linda was a fabulous Miss Hannigan in Annie, Golda in Fiddler on the Roof and Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes. She and Shauna tried nearly every kind of music together: doo-wop, trios, a Judds-style duo, and anything else Linda wanted to try.

Linda always had some new creative pursuit underway. Over the years she decorated cakes, painted, crocheted blankets, made jewelry, taught cooking classes and practiced reflexology. But her favorite role was cheering on her children and grandsons from the stands at their many sporting events and theater productions.

Her caring nature reached well beyond her own family. When Shauna and Chad were in high school, it led her, almost by accident, to a side job babysitting, and she loved every child in her care like her own. She opened her home and her heart to her kids' friends as well, and to many of them she was a second mom. Whoever needed looking after, Linda found a way to care for them.

Linda loved animals all her life, and her home was rarely without a dog or cat underfoot. Her softest spot was for Basset Hounds, a love that began with Millie Mae and only grew when Buford joined the family. Hank, a final gift from Stephen, became her steady companion and comfort after he passed.

Linda is survived by her children, Shauna Devening and partner Jeremy Lind, and Chad Austin and wife Jessi Chadd; grandsons Tristan Devening and Brendan Devening; foster daughter Michelle Schrout and husband Brandon; nephew Jason Calvert and wife Chasity; and numerous cousins. She was preceded in death by her husband, Stephen; her parents; and her sibling.

A memorial service will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, November 21, 2026, at Jones Funeral Home in Burlington. The family will greet friends from 9:30 a.m. until service time. Memorial donations may be made to Prairie Paws Animal Shelter, in care of Jones Funeral Home, PO Box 277, Burlington, KS 66839.