Linda Lou Branum

Linda Lou Branum, 84, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, January 31, 2024, at Riverview Hospital in Noblesville, Indiana. She was born July 19, 1939, in Terre Haute, Indiana, the only child of Harry A. and Ethel (Nicholson) Gardner. She was a 1957 graduate of Garfield High School in Terre Haute. Upon graduation and before marriage, she worked briefly for GMAC Financing.

On November 23, 1958, Linda married Thomas A. Branum of Rosedale, Indiana, with the ceremony taking place at the Maple Avenue United Methodist Church in Terre Haute. The couple settled into a home on Main St. in Rosedale and lived there at the time of the birth of their three children. Tom worked as a salesman for Levin Bros. Wholesale Comp. and later the Equitable Life Assurance Company. Linda, in turn, worked as a homemaker, raising the couple’s children.

From 1977 to 1983, the couple lived on Weatherside Run in Ft. Wayne. Then, in 1983, they moved to the family farmstead on Seminole Road in Noblesville, where they would live for nearly 40 years. Here on their “hobby farm,” they raised horses, goats, and a myriad of barnyard animals, plus numerous beloved dogs and cats. While Tom continued his career with Equitable, Linda re-entered the workforce when her children reached adulthood, working as a secretary at Noblesville United Methodist Church.

Tom was devoted to and very involved in Rotary International. This led to the couple spending their retirement years traveling and serving others. Their travels took them all over the world and to every continent except Antarctica.

Linda was an avid bridge player, cross-stitcher, and quilt maker. And she was also a prolific collector of friends. Her kind soul and innate goodness drew people to her and fostered lifelong friendships wherever she went.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by Tom, her husband of 63 years, and two brothers-in-law, James E. Branum and Joseph F. Branum.

She is survived by her three children, Kimberly Branum, Thomas Branum Jr., and Gregg Branum, all of Fishers; three grandchildren, Becky (Webster) Dyson of Pittsboro, Indiana, Jonathan Webster of Fishers, and Victoria (Roeder) Sue of Indianapolis; and two great-grandchildren, Shea Dyson and Harrison Webster.

A memorial service will be held at 2:00 pm on Sunday, February 11, 2024, at The Chapel at Heartland Church, 14900 126th St, Fishers, Indiana.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in Linda’s honor to The Rotary Foundation (TRF), 14280 Collections Center Dr., Chicago, IL 60693 (https://www.rotary.org/en/about-rotary/rotary-foundation).

Condolences:   www.randallroberts.com