Linnae “Dormez” Redd Hedgbeth of Salem, having enjoyed a rich and loving life, died on November 16 in Roanoke. Linnae was the daughter of the late Andrew Walton Redd, a rural mail carrier, and the late Bessie Arnold Redd, a nurse and country storekeeper, of Beaverdam, Virginia. She is survived by daughter Llewellyn H. “Lulu” Hedgbeth; son Roger A. Hedgbeth, Jr.; son-in-law, Scheeren F. “Satch” Reed; brother John Llewellyn Redd of Tampa, Florida; and many nieces, nephews and friends. She was predeceased by her husband of nearly 48 years, Roger Albert Hedgbeth; daughter Harriet Bridget “Tootie” Leavens and son-in-law John Macdonald Leavens; four sisters, Lavinia Lindsay Redd, Elizabeth Warren Redd Johnson, Lydia Arnold Redd, and Loretto McLaughlin Redd Auvil; and three brothers, Andrew Walton Redd, Jr., James Thomas Redd, and William Coleman Redd.
Linnae graduated from Beaverdam High School in 1944, and during WWII years, she volunteered as an airplane spotter, also working in Washington, D.C. in the summers as a clerk for the Office of Price Administration and as a control-receptionist for the Pentagon.
The sixth of eight siblings to graduate from Randolph-Macon Men’s College in Ashland, Virginia (class of ’48), she worked as a math and English teacher at Blackstone College for Girls, Pulaski High School, Andrew Lewis High School, Glenvar Middle School, James River High School and Lord Botetourt High School. From 1954 through1958, she worked as an office manager for her husband’s Salem law firm Hedgbeth & Perrine.
In 1976, she earned an M.A. from Hollins College where her thesis traced the stories of her strong-minded sisters who had family and careers in an era that did not encourage women to hold positions outside the home.
During her college years, she acted in productions as a Randolph-Macon Player, and during her teaching career, she helped design and produce several proms and theatrical productions. Another of her side interests as a teacher was journalism, and in the 60s she was faculty sponsor for The Spokesman, the student newspaper for Andrew Lewis High School.
After surviving cancer at 30, she had a real zest for life and was active in community organizations, including many years of service to the Junior Women’s Club and the Salem Women’s Club, the Order of the Eastern Star-Chapter 161, and the Amaranth Roanoke Valley Court 13. She also maintained memberships in the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars Auxiliaries, the Blinded Veterans Auxiliary and the Ladies Auxiliary of the 30th Infantry Division Association.
Her devoted son Roger, proud of his mom and deeply saddened at this loss, said, “Linnae was the best mother who ever lived. She liked everyone, and she loved life. More than a few times, we had fun on vacations or just driving down the road listening to the Allman Brothers and Deep Purple at full blast.”
She will be remembered as a wife and mother who supported her family in every way she could; a teacher who cared deeply about her students; and a friend to many who returned love, admiration and respect to her.
Services will be held on Friday, November 22, at 2 p.m. with an Eastern Star Service at Simpson Funeral Home Chapel, with interment following at Sherwood Memorial Park. The family will receive friends from 1 p.m. to service time.
If desired, and in lieu of flowers, contributions in her memory would be welcomed to the Hedgbeth Scholarship Fund at the Salem Educational Foundation, www.sefandaa.org, or P.O. Box 1461, Salem, Virginia 24153. Arrangements by Simpson Funeral Home. (540)-366-0707.
