Mrs. Mary Linda Harris of Haughton, Louisiana, age 82, passed away on Friday, December 19, 2025 surrounded by her loved ones. Born in Los Angeles, California on July 11, 1943, Linda grew up in DeQueen, Arkansas and married her high school sweetheart, John Harris, on December 8, 1962.
Before her retirement, Linda was a paralegal for Don Weir Jr., Attorney at Law in Shreveport, Louisiana.
Her career included serving as a hospital admissions clerk and switchboard operator and working for a security company, a pasta manufacturer, an oil company, and the FDIC. She was the first female radio operator/dispatcher for the Louisiana State Police, where she was also appointed as a supervisor and training officer. She also worked as a dispatcher for the Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Department.
Beyond her deep, enduring faith in God, Linda’s greatest devotion was her family. She loved spending time with her husband, children, grandchildren and extended family, and being present for their milestones big and small. She and John traveled the world, sharing their love of exploration and photography while building lifelong friendships across the globe. Linda was always open to new adventures: riding motorcycles, waterskiing, flying in a glider, taking to the skies in a hot air balloon, or savoring nature in our national parks. She was a learner in every season of life, becoming a ham radio operator, excelling in photography, researching her family genealogy, sailing boats in the waters of Cross Lake and the British Virgin Islands, and charting the skies on a telescope in her backyard. She even practiced tai chi and earned an advanced belt in karate.
Linda is survived by her beloved husband of 63 years, Walter John Harris; three children, Teresa Hanselman of St. Louis, Missouri (husband Jim Hanselman), Joan “Mickey” Schoonover of Lake Saint Louis, Missouri (husband Bill Schoonover), and Michael Harris of Shreveport, Louisiana (wife Rebecca Harris); and six grandchildren, Katherine Hanselman, James Hanselman IV, Emily Schoonover, Ethan Schoonover, Mary Laing, and Sarah Harris. She is preceded in death by her parents, Odis Dale Smith and Edah Royalene Smith.
In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital or The Leukemia And Lymphoma Society.