Dr. Linda Bennett Elder

Dr. Linda Bennett Elder passed away peacefully at her home in Valdosta on December 5, 2020. A private family service will be held Tuesday, December 8, 2020 with a Celebration of Life event planned for the Spring 2021 possibly in May near her birthday.
She was born in Atlanta, Georgia on May 14, 1939 to Homer and Elizabeth Craig Bennett. She was a member of Christ the King Episcopal Church in Valdosta and resided in Valdosta for 22 years. Linda was a Professor of Religious Studies at Valdosta State University from 1994 until retirement in 2009. She was a graduate of Florida State University with B.A. degree in Religion and Anthropology Magna Cum Laude, M.A. Degree In History of Religions with High Honors and Ph.D. In Humanities and History of Religions. She was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi in 1983 and received the Proctor Fellow­ ship to Episcopal Divinity School at Harvard in 1988. She was formerly an enclosed nun
at the Community of St. Clare in Freeland, Oxfordshire, England and had several careers prior to entering the convent for three years. She was involved with the theater having been a part of the Second City group in Chicago and as a director of opera productions in New York and Toronto. She was a lifelong activist focusing on gender equality and racial justice. She was a member of the United Religions Initiative 2002-2016 and a Trustee on the Global Council of that organization 2008-2011. She founded The Pilgrimage Project as a part of her URJ efforts to bring all world religions together in harmony to oppose religious oppression and wars. Linda was also a published author and a featured speaker in several venues.
Linda enjoyed cooking and travel, especially to the beach or mountains. She loved her family and especially her husband Bob who claims they had "one of the World's Great Love Affairs" for 40 years. She died on their 39th wedding anniversary.
In addition to her parents Linda is preceded in death by her sister Margaret Craig Bennett Thompson. She is survived by her husband Robert (Bob) Elder, stepchildren John (Courtney) Elder of Clarendon Hills,IL, Martha (Kunaal) Khanna of Chicago , IL, and Pete Elder of Mebane, NC and seven grandchildren.
Condolences to the family may be conveyed online at www.mclanecares.com. Carson McLane.