Linda Lorraine McLean McAbee passed away in Savannah, Georgia, on January 5, 2026. She will be greatly missed and fondly remembered by her family and everyone who knew her.

Throughout her life, she was devoted to earnest and scholarly study of the Bible and delighted in close reading, whether in study groups, with friends and family, or on her own. She found insight and comfort in the Word and desired in all ways to be a faithful servant of the Lord in everything she did. Her life of kindness, generosity and service to others was a reflection of her faith.

Born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, in 1945, she lived in Savannah before moving with her family to Jacksonville, where she graduated from Terry Parker High School. She received a bachelor’s degree from Florida State University and in 1967 married Bill McAbee, her husband of 58 years. They lived in Macon and Atlanta before moving to Savannah, where they raised their daughters and lived for more than 35 years. They then spent 10 years in Montgomery, Alabama, and returned to Savannah.

With sharp intellect, good judgement and a gentle spirit, she excelled in academics, the teaching profession, and the business world, but her family and friends were the center of her life. Through the years, she balanced creating a home with her husband, raising her daughters, and caring for her mother, while always making time for her friends. She gathered her family around the table daily for conversation and dinner. Her spritz cookies were as beautiful as they were delicious, and her pound cakes were perfect. She was always ready to encourage those around her with a good word, and she especially delighted in her grandchildren.

Everything she did, she did with excellence, and her artistry transformed the everyday into the exceptional. She played the piano beautifully, favoring works from Chopin and Johnny Mercer, as well as traditional hymns. With a keen eye for design, she created beauty and goodness seemingly out of thin air, whether through photography, ceramics, home design, creating and styling clothing, or exploring many different crafts with her daughters. 

She also brought a sense of adventure and whimsy to everyday life, leading her mother and young daughters on many road trips across Florida and to New York and Washington, D.C. While in her 70s, she enjoyed riding a beach cruiser bicycle with Chuck, the family Chihuahua, running alongside, and in later years she treated that same dog to rides in the basket of her rollator.

These are among the qualities that, joined with her constant care and devotion, created a lifetime of happiness and fixed her in our hearts forever.

She is survived by her husband, William H. McAbee II, her daughters Laura McAbee Thomson (James), Amy McAbee Cummings (Patrick), her grandchildren, Gaile and Zephyr Cummings, many nieces and nephews, her sister-in-law, Kay Holland McLean, and her dearest friend, Martha Ann Tullis Stewart, who was like a sister.

She is preceded in death by her parents, Lewis Milton and Elva Scott McLean, and her brother, Lewis M. “Pete” McLean.

Her family would also like to thank her many friends, caregivers, nurses, and doctors, for their kindness, prayers and good wishes.

Family and friends are invited to attend a funeral service at 1:30 p.m. on Friday, January 9, at The Kirk Presbyterian Church at 3212 Bee Road in Savannah, followed by a graveside service at Greenwich Cemetery at 330 Bonaventure Road in Savannah.