Rosemary Linda (Linda) Byrd Salyers, 78, was born April 30, 1948, and entered peacefully into Heaven June 29, 2026, walking again into the arms of her beloved Jimmie, embracing all her loved ones waiting for her, and seeing Jesus face to face.
Linda was the eldest of six children, born in Richlands, Virginia. She had a large, loving family and frequently recalled many happy memories of her early life spent on her family land, especially her grandparents’ farm. Linda was married to the love of her life, Jimmie, for 56 years before his heavenly homecoming – and together they created a beautiful life. She was an exceptional woman, with a fierce generosity and passion for taking care of those she loved. Her ability to create the feeling of home – whether through a chocolate chess pie, a door that was always open, or a mended shirt – was a rare gift.
Linda spent her life taking care of others, and her career choices reflected that. She spent her years running a daycare (where every baby was one of “her” babies), helping her husband Jim at his flower shop, and her most passionate project – operating her bed and breakfast at their home. She did this while staying highly involved in church and social functions cooking large meals, singing in the choir, organizing bake sales, and more. The last years of her life were spent being a full-time caregiver to her husband, Jim, after his stroke. She dedicated her life to helping others and cultivating hospitality.
Linda loved to paint and sew and made many intricate doll outfits and painted detailed faces on the dolls that her husband Jimmie would make. She created happiness anywhere the people she loved were. Shortly after Jimmie passed away, we discovered she never actually liked coffee, she just made it for the two of them and drank it with him every day because he loved it so much. That was Linda in all things – quietly supporting and providing. Her children and grandchildren had so many happy memories of her that it was hard to encompass them in one small obituary. One sentiment that remains the same throughout every story is that she was someone who often anticipated the needs of others (ham biscuits for volunteers, food taken to neighbors in need, and always an open door for unexpected visitors), someone who cared deeply about the people she loved, someone who wrote the best stories for her grandchildren, someone who was thoughtful, and someone who carried the stories of her family so that future generations would know the importance of family and the goodness of God. One final passage of scripture we’d like to share in her memory is, Galatians 6:9-10a. “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people.”
Linda is predeceased by her parents, Claude and Emily Brown; and her beloved husband Jimmie.
She is survived by her four children; three daughters, Tracy (Keith) Vinson, Ramona (Billy) Dowdy and Valerie (Roy) Burton; one son, Kevin (Jennifer) Salyers; bonus daughter, Joyce (Dewey) Moore; four sisters Gaynell Richardson, Phyllis (Ronnie) Hall, Judy (Gary) Gross and Janice Brown; one brother Charlie (Missy) Brown; seven grandchildren, Hilary (Tim) Thompson, Rachael (Robert) Carter, Adam Dowdy, Hannah (Nunzio) Gallo, Nathanial (Jessica) Burton, Emily (Joey) Ballard and Sydney Salyers; great-grandchildren, Viviana, Hayden, Andrew, Gabriel, Roman, Silas, Ashlyn, Shepard, Jaxon, Weston and Aurora; special friends; Wanda & Joseph Hamilton; and many other beloved family members and friends.
The family would like to extend our special thanks to the incredible team at Rocky Mount Health & Rehab that showered our mother with love, kindness, and the utmost of special care. We will be forever grateful.
The family received friends Monday, July 6, 2026, at the Mullins Funeral Home in Radford. Funeral services followed with Rev. Keith Vinson and Rev. Roy Burton officiating. Interment followed in Roselawn Memorial Gardens in Christiansburg.
The Salyers family is in the care of Mullins Funeral Home & Crematory in Radford.
