Linda Gale Fong

Linda Gale Fong was born the fifth child to Margie & Ulim Fong of Shreveport, Louisiana on December 18, 1961.   Linda is predeceased by her mother, Margie Pyles Fong, father- Ulim Fong, Sr., brother Phillip Fong, and her nephew, John David Walton.   Linda is survived by her sister Barbara F. Walton and husband David Walton, her sister Debbie Baker and husband Bill Baker, and her brother, Ulim Fong Jr and wife Tina Fong.  Linda had several nieces and nephews as follows:  Elizabeth Walton Stewart and husband, Will Stewart, Julianne Stewart, Joshua Fong, Sarah Fong, Hannah Fong, and James David Fong.  Linda was loved by her nieces and nephews and played an important role in their lives when all the children were young.  She was the beloved Aunt Linda.

Linda was well known in the state of Louisiana at the age of 14 when she placed first in the United States Junior Champions of Judo and placed fourth in the world games held in London, England.  Linda made the Olympic team in 1980, but the United States along with 66 other countries boycotted those games entirely in Moscow.

After 1980, Linda decided to pursue other athletic adventures and was a successful softball player in Shreveport, La.  Linda graduated from Woodlawn High School in 1979.  After graduation, Linda managed a Dairy Queen restaurant for many years and when the restaurant closed, she decided to move to North Carolina to pursue a career in nursing at the age of 49.

Linda graduated from the Central Carolina Community College Nursing program as a licensed practical nurse (LPN) in 2014.  Shortly afterward she went to work for Parkview Retirement Home in Sanford, NC.   Linda loved working at Parkview and loved her resident patients.   Unfortunately, Linda’s career in nursing was shortened by the discovery of a terminal debilitating disease in her body.  She was diagnosed in 2018 with MSA – multiple systems atrophy.  This disease is a neurodegenerative disease that affects the ability of nerve cells to communicate with the rest of the body and the voluntary nervous system functions that control movement.  This disease was the cause of her final demise on Monday, October 23, 2023. 

Linda was an independent, loving and caring individual and she will be missed by her family and many friends.   Her family would like to thank Dr. Nadkarni, the Keller’s Oakhaven staff, the Parkview In-Home Aid staff, and Mrs. Linda Kelly, who assisted in the care of Linda in her final weeks of life.  The family is most thankful for the loving care Linda received from the people involved in her wellbeing.