Linda Dianne (Hays) Heitfeld, 76, of Marietta, OK, passed from this life on Tuesday, April 14, 2026, at a Durant hospital. She was born on July 1, 1949, in Ardmore, OK, to Thomas Russell and Azaline (Ladner) Hays.

Linda grew up in Marietta, where she attended the Church of Christ, and graduated from Marietta High School with the Class of 1967. She later attended Oklahoma State University. Following her education, she married and worked alongside her husband in various construction projects, helping build homes, swimming pools, and contributing to commercial roofing work.

Linda had a deep love for the outdoors and found great joy in boating, fishing, and spending time with her grandchildren. She also enjoyed scrapbooking and preserving cherished family memories. Later in life, she worked as a lead sales associate in the fishing department at Bass Pro Shops in Grapevine, Texas, where her knowledge and passion for fishing were well known. She loved sharing her story of assisting professional football player Terry Bradshaw, who initially doubted her expertise until she confidently proved she was exactly the person he needed. She was one of the few Bass Pro associates that took advantage of the employee discount program and bought herself a houseboat from the company at a very reduced price…company policy changed shortly after that did not include boats as part of their employee benefits. Linda had taken her passion for the outdoors to a whole other level, and was often traveling throughout the United States, including Alaska, or to countries as far as Brazil, fishing whenever possible.

She was preceded in death by her parents.

Those left to cherish her memory include her son, Rob Louis Heitfeld and wife Kendra of Enid, OK; daughter, Belinda Dawn Marsh and husband Paul of McKinney, TX; grandchildren, Taylor Allen Marsh and wife Cris of Lewisville, TX, Kaylee Jaden Heitfeld and fiancé Ryan Sanchez of Westminster, CO, Amber Dawn Marsh of Palmetto, FL, and Kaden Garrott Heitfeld of Lawrence, KS; great-grandson, Benjamin Allen Marsh; brother, Tom Hays and wife Valorie of Marietta; niece, Lisa Hays of Marietta; and the father of her children, Rodney Heitfeld of Enid; along with many other family members and friends.

Funeral services will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, April 17th, at the Flanagan-Watts Funeral Home Chapel with Bishop Tony Ladner officiating. Interment will follow at Lakeview Cemetery in Marietta. A time of visitation will be held Thursday evening from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the funeral home.

Serving as casket bearers will be Jeff Graham, Jason Graham, Jimmy Monkres, Brian Ladner, Haskel Folsom, Danny Hays and Scott Hays. Honorary casket bearers will be Larry Taliaferro and Mickey Locke.