Linda Louise Mercier

WALLINGFORD - Linda Louise Mercier, 74, departed this life on July 19, 2022.  She was the beloved wife of the late John Albert Mercier, and mother to Michael Thomas Stiefel.

Linda was born in Portland, Maine on May 7, 1948, to Russell F. Sholes and Irma Louise Sholes. She was the youngest among four sisters.

Linda loved animals and spent most of her younger years working in that field. At one point she ran her own dog grooming business. She became Dog Warden in different towns and retired from Wallingford Dog Pound as an Assistant Warden. Her love of animals continued as she recently raised chickens with her late husband, John. Throughout her life she wrote poems and recently published a book of her poems. Linda had never graduated from high school and in 1994 she returned to school and graduated with honors - one of her great accomplishments.

Linda was a very kind, caring, loving person. She loved her family and adored her grandsons, Michael and Alex. She cherished her church family at Liberty Community Church and had made many great friends over the years. She loved her son, Michael (her only child), so very much so that when he was 18 and was going to move out, Linda and John bought a house with an in-law apartment so Michael would live there to be near to her. That house later on became an attraction in Wallingford when Linda and John decided to decorate the yard during the Halloween and Christmas seasons. Linda loved seeing the happiness of people walking around and enjoying it, especially with John out there handing out candy to the kids. Later years, unfortunately, due to their physical conditions they had to stop doing it. There are still people around that as kids would go to their house every year and remember their Halloween & Christmas decorations fondly.

Linda is survived by her son, Michael Thomas and wife Gilda L. Stiefel; sisters, Bette Adams, Mickey Taylor (husband, Edward), Carol Ann Collins, and sister-in law Barbara Carlson; grandsons, Michael Anthony and Alexander Thomas (wife, Mia G.) Stiefel; nieces and nephews, David F. Tisdale, Wallace E. Tisdale, Dorothy I. Agrippino, Ginger L. McGuire, Justin J. Tisdale, and many loving friends. She is predeceased by her parents and husband, whom have greeted her in her eternal rest.

A Memorial Service for Linda will be held on Saturday, July 30, 2022 at the Liberty Community Church in North Haven. The family will receive family and friends there from 11am to 12pm, directly followed by a service at 12pm.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Hope Pregnancy Center of Cheshire (www.hopepregnancycenterct.org), which Linda and John supported over the years. The B.C. Bailey Funeral Home of Wallingford, CT is honored to have been entrusted with Linda’s care and arrangements.

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