Linda Sue (Smith) Ridenhour, 76, Eldon and formerly of Blue Springs, passed away Friday, April 24, 2026.
She was born on Aug. 23, 1949, to the late Arthur Edwin and Helen Mae (Oliver) Smith in Kansas City.
She was a 1968 graduate of Blue Springs High School and played the clarinet in band.
Following high school, Linda received her bachelor’s degree in science from Webster College as well as a bachelor’s degree in dental hygiene from the University of Missouri Kansas City.
She studied gerontology at the graduate level, taught dentistry at Penn Valley Community College in Kansas City, and was the coordinator of the Research Center in Dentistry at UMKC. Linda retired from the University of Missouri Kansas City after years as heading the dental research center and retired from Concorde Career College as the director of the dental assisting program.
She was united in marriage to Lynn Edwin Ridenhour on Dec. 27, 1969, at the First Baptist Church in Belle.
Linda grew up on Lake Tapawingo near Kansas City and loved water skiing. She was a hard-working wife and mother who strived to make good grades as a student and enjoyed learning. Linda was fiercely loved by her grandparents, and family was very important to her. She loved cats, had a great sense of humor, and enjoyed dressing nicely and looking proper.
Together with Lynn, they moved from Kansas City to Eldon in 2020 to be closer to their daughter Lori and her family. Lori and Linda were best friends as well as mother and daughter and she will be missed greatly by her and her family as well as anyone who knew and loved her.
She was preceded in death by parents, Arthur and Helen; aunts, Dorothy “DoDo” and Ginny; and brothers-in-law, Bill “Pedro” Campbell and Glennon Abel.
Linda is survived by daughter, Lori Rice and husband Jeff of Rocky Mount; sisters-in-law, Joan Abel of Belle, Sherry Campbell of Union and Cynthia Rutz and husband Norris of Ashland; fur grandbabies, Barkley, Majerle and Miller; as well as many extended family members and friends.
Graveside services will be held at 12 p.m., Thursday, April 30, at the Pilot Knob Church Cemetery, with Noble Hower officiating.
Linda loved flowers so the family asks that instead of donations, that flowers be sent for the service.
Arrangements entrusted to Sassmann’s Chapel in Belle.
