Linda B. Brandt

Linda B. Brandt Obituary

Linda B. Brandt, age 78 formerly of San Diego, California, died peacefully on March 25, 2025, surrounded by her family in Amarillo.

A Memorial Mass will be on Saturday, March 29, 2025, at 11:00 AM at St. Mary’s Cathedral. The celebrant will be Msgr. Joseph Bixenman. Rev. Anthony Neusch and Rev. Phillip B. Lindley will be concelebrants. Inurnment will be at the Miramar National Cemetery in San Diego, California, next to her husband, at a later date.

Linda was born May 1, 1946, in Amarillo to her parents Roy and Barbara Motch Bourg, the first of four children. A vibrant and beautiful young girl whose hair flowed down to her knees and was usually braided in pigtails, she attended St. Mary’s Academy. Some of her fondest memories are of walking to the Dairy Queen on 15th and Washington with her friends after school. She was a member of the Girl Scouts and was in ballet from age six until she was seventeen. After graduating high school, she attended Amarillo College from 1964-1966, earning an Associates in Arts degree.

At age 21 Linda married her beloved Jim Brandt on June 17, 1967, at St. Mary’s. Jim worked for the Veterans Administration, and to advance his career he had to transfer every two years. The family moved from Amarillo to Texarkana, to Huntsville (AL), to Winston-Salem (NC), to Chicago (IL), and then to San Diego (CA), where Linda declared, “No more!” It was there in San Diego that Linda was able to put down some roots and get involved in the community. She became a member of the San Diego Sweet Adelines Chorus, who became more like family to her and Jim. They would often travel together spending time around the campfires singing and playing games. She would eventually become the chorus historian.

Linda worked at SeaWorld San Diego as the Office Administrator in the Education Department. Linda and Jim’s three boys were recipients to many “behind the scenes” treats from the notable superstar Shamu the Killer Whale, including a gentle hug and kiss. Each day after school, Linda arranged for the boys to take a city bus from La Jolla to SeaWorld for them to play at Cap’n Kids World until she got off work.

Linda continued her education and obtained her Paralegal certificate from the University of San Diego.

Together, Linda and Jim created a loving, warm and welcoming home for their children, friends, and pets alike. The family opened their home to foreign exchange students from Japan, Italy, Thailand and South Korea. The boys’ friends knew that Linda was to be addressed as “Mom,” not Mrs. Brandt. Although she did not have any grandchildren of her own, she cherished her role as Godmother and “Grandma Linda” to Annika and Tory Swenson of San Diego.

Linda lived her life devoted to her Catholic faith, her beloved family, and friends. She was a beautiful and vibrant individual that brought warmth everywhere she went. To know Linda was to love her, and she did indeed make the world a better place.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Roy and Barbara; and by her beloved Jim, husband of fifty-six years, in September 2023.

Linda is survived by her three sons, James Michael “Jamie” Brandt of San Diego California, John Paul “Johnie” Brandt and husband Terry of Bella Vista, Arkansas, and Joseph Alan “Joey” Brandt and wife Mary of Sun City, Arizona; her three siblings, Vanessa Rauscher and husband Jim of Amarillo, Ramona Giromini of Amarillo, and Kennan Bourg and wife Rose of Euless, Texas; and many loving nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that memorials be made in Linda’s memory to the “Jim and Vanessa Rauscher Choral Scholars” Scholarship Fund, C/O St. Mary’s Cathedral, 1200 South Washington, Amarillo, Texas 79102.

The mass will be live-streamed at stmarysamarillo.com