Odessa Lindemann

Services will be 10:00 A.M. Saturday, April 25 at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Umbarger. Burial will be at St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery. Mrs. Lindemann will be available for viewing beginning Thursday, April 23 at 9:00 A.M. Prayer services will be 6:30 P.M. Friday, April 24 at Brooks Chapel. Odessa was born November 10, 1928 to Walter and Dora Scruggs in Spanish Fort, Texas, the ninth of eleven children. In 1939, her mother died. Three years later, her papa moved the family to the Panhandle area to be closer to the married brothers and sisters. Odessa got a job doing housework for Opal Ponds who lived north of Umbarger. When her papa decided to move the family to Harlingen, Opal offered to let Odessa work for her room and board so she could fulfill her dream of graduating from high school. During a stop in Umbarger one cold day to buy gas, Odessa went inside the gas station to get warm. Andrew (Snookey) Lindemann who worked there fell in love with her at first sight. He asked Mrs. Ponds to arrange a date. Odessa was reluctant to go out with someone her father had not approved. Her employer insisted that Snookey was a good man, so she went. She soon realized that he was the love of her life. Odessa graduated from Canyon High School in May of 1947, and they were married August 12th of that year. Together, they owned and operated Fisherman's Supply, a bait house near Buffalo Lake. Always industrious, Odessa did whatever needed to be done from paying bills to cooking for hired help. She sewed many miles of seams with her Singer sewing machine creating fashions for herself and her three daughters that rivaled ready-made wear. She taught CCD classes at St. Mary's Catholic Church. In 1967 when Buffalo Lake was closed, they shuttered Fisherman's Supply. To replace their bait business, they bought land in Canyon near the old high school and in 1969 rented their first lot at Chaparral Villa Mobile Home Park. In 1975, Odessa opened Linde's Fashions. For nine years she outfitted the Canyon ladies with quality ready-to-wear fashions until she lost her lease and was forced to close in 1984, much to the dismay of her devoted clientele. Undaunted, she took up her old job helping her husband lease lots and wagging her finger at him or any of her loved ones who weren't behaving as she thought they should. Snookey was just glad to have his "best momma" with him all day. They sold the park in 1994. The couple loved outdoor activities, particularly fishing and hunting together. Before Snookey died in 2004, they enjoyed traveling. Their favorite trip was an Alaskan cruise. Members of Snookey's and Odessa's family and community often said they found the couple's fifty-seven years of loving marriage an inspiration. Their family spent many happy hours with them at their home savoring Odessa's delicious cooking and playing in their beautiful yard. After her husband's death, she wore out two Cadillacs tearing up the highway between Amarillo, Canyon, and Umbarger. Her Red Hat friends and the members of Widowed Person's Services could depend on the lady in the newest edition, a smart red Cadillac, to make them feel loved and valued. Most Friday nights she could be found at the downtown senior citizen center dancing with her special friend, Bob Thompson. Many a problem was solved over a cup of her coffee at her table. Anyone who tasted her cinnamon rolls would never forget them. She cultivated many friendships in the area and was always willing to offer a helping hand or tell a joke. If there is a mother's walk of fame in heaven, her name is surely inscribed there. Odessa was preceded in death by her husband, four sisters, and five brothers. Her legacy continues through three daughters, Susan McDivitt and husband Jamey of Amarillo; Shirley Neuser and husband, Randy of Ft. Worth; and Sharon Day Cullins and husband James of Rockwall; one sister, Maurine Abbott of Canyon, 13 grandchildren, and 8 great-grandchildren. All are just as stubborn as she was which to her was an asset and not a downfall. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the patients of Baptist St. Anthony's Hospice, in care of Don and Sybil Harrington Cancer Foundation, 1600 Wallace Blvd., Amarillo, TX 79106 or to a favorite charity.