SPRINGVILLE — Linda Lou Gold Jackson, beautiful wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, sister and friend, passed away peacefully at her home in Springville from health complications on March 24, 2023. Linda was 83 years old.
She was born in Ancon, Canal Zone, Panama, March 19, 1940, to Everett Van and Thelma Lucille Gruber Gold. She was the oldest of six children and very close to her sisters Carol, Brenda, Marsha, Tami and her brother Bill. She graduated from Brigham Young University, where she met the love of her life, Malan Robert Jackson. They were married for time and all eternity in the Salt Lake LDS temple Aug. 28, 1959. Malan preceded her in death July 8, 2021.
The hymn “I’ll Go Where You Want Me to Go” would become Linda’s life calling. Linda supported Malan as they moved more than 50 times in their 62 years of marriage. Linda and Malan were called to open and be the first mission presidents of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Taiwan. Linda was also by his side during his various jobs in Asia and would accompany him on their last church mission to Mongolia. They had many great experiences and found success and joy in their lives together.
Linda was a natural born missionary and teacher. When Malan was the mission president in Taiwan from 1971-1974, Linda was the mission mother to hundreds of missionaries. Linda was a key part of that mission’s success. As a teacher, Linda taught at The American School of Guangzhou, Orem High School and in Wayne County. Linda loved to teach.
In 2008, Linda and Malan were called as missionaries to Mongolia where they developed a true love for the Mongolian people. Linda established church Family History Centers in Mongolia and taught the members how to do their own genealogy research. Linda delighted in doing genealogy work and continued doing this important work through the last year of her life.
Linda made countless friends during her many years. She had friends from Phoenix to Fujian and Springville to Ulaanbaatar. Linda had many gifts, including designing jewelry. She enjoyed wandering through local markets across Asia and gathering beautiful stones, beads, and unique pieces. Linda loved designing her one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces.
Linda was also a collector. She collected old European perfume bottles in Macau. In Taiwan she collected little porcelain bird bowls for her canaries and wooden presses for mooncakes. In China she collected painted porcelain pillows.
In China, Linda wrote a book titled “Color Power” about color codes and how to match your personal color code to your clothing and makeup. The book was translated into Chinese and published in China. Linda loved movies and looked forward to going to them with her family. Linda touched many with her kind heart, her loving spirit and her gorgeous smile. She was beautiful inside and out and devoted her life to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
She is survived by her eight children, Deborah Lin and Bruce Mason, Kaysville; Andrew Kent and Anne Elizabeth Jackson, Springville; Rebekah Li Trammell, Springville; Chen Hai and Liwen Han, Holladay; Elizabeth Lan and Lemuel Pedro, Sedona, Arizona; Tamar Ling and Les Allen, Springville; Joseph Malan and Stephanie Peay Jackson, Salem; and Joshua William and Catherine Marie Jackson, Orem; 26 grandchildren; and 24 great-grandchildren; brother, Bill (Sharon) Gold; and sisters, Carol Curtis, Marsha (David) Allen and Tami (Rudy) Ruybal.
Linda was preceded in death by her husband, Malan Robert Jackson; parents, Everett Van and Thelma Lucille Gruber Gold; and sister, Brenda McGee.
Funeral services will be Friday, March 31, at 11 a.m. in the Hobble Creek West LDS Stake Center, 555 South Averett Avenue in Springville, where friends may call for viewing Friday morning from 9 to 10:30 a.m., prior to the services.
Burial will take place at 4 p.m. in the Fremont Cemetery under the care of the Springer Turner Funeral Home of Richfield and Salina.
Live streaming of the services can be found at springerturner.com under Linda’s obituary about 15 minutes prior to starting time.
Online guestbook at springerturner.com.
