Linda Ingols Dole

Linda Ingols Dole was born on March 28, 1939 to Robert and Mary Guiler Ingols. She grew up in Parkersburg, West Virginia and passed away in Houston, Texas on August 5, 2020.

From her childhood to her last days, she was an avid reader, especially of detective novels, and she had an infectious laugh. She loved humorous anecdotes and had an excellent sense of humor. A tall blond high school beauty, her talent as a debater and classically trained pianist brought her a pageant title and scholarship money to attend Marietta College in Ohio. At Marietta, she earned a BA in Mathematics (1960), was on the college debate team, was a member of Alpha Chi Omega sorority and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. Linda began law school at Cornell in 1961 where she was one of only three women in her entering class. It was there she met her husband of 58 years, Richard Fairfax Dole, Jr., a student in the LL.M. program They were married on November 12, 1961 and shortly thereafter, Linda decided to defer her law school studies to start a family.

After a short time in Ann Arbor, Michigan where Richard received his S.J.D., he accepted a teaching position at the University of Iowa Law School and in 1964 the Dole family moved to Iowa City. Linda loved living in a college town and raising her three young children in the beautiful home she created for them within walking distance of campus. A life-long Democrat, she became active in the Iowa caucuses and primaries and served as the President of the Iowa City League of Women Voters. She served a short stint as a part-time magistrate for the municipal city court in Iowa City before returning to her law studies, graduating with highest distinction from the University of Iowa Law School in 1978 where she was on the Board of Editors of the Iowa Law Review and a member of the Order of the Coif.

Upon Linda’s graduation, the Doles moved to Houston where Richard became a chaired professor at the University of Houston and Linda became an associate with the law firm of Baker & Botts. Linda became a partner in the Business Finance section of the law firm of Andrews & Kurth in 1988 where she practiced law for the remainder of her career. She was an important, vital part of the fabric of the firm and, even after she retired, was seen regularly at firm social events, including the most recent Hunton Andrews Kurth holiday party. Linda specialized in commercial finance, representing banks, insurance companies and other institutional investors, borrowers and securities issuers in complex financing structures ranging from traditional bank loans to cross-border multi-currency facility financings. She was a contributor to multiple legal treatises and was elected a fellow in the American College of Investment Counsel. In addition to her outstanding legal skills, Linda’s clients valued her professionalism, common sense, high ethical standards, and unfaltering dedication to them. She was described often as “brilliant,” “gifted” and “a lawyer’s lawyer.” After she retired from the active practice of law, she was sought out to teach courses at both the University of Houston Law School and South Texas College of Law on practice skills for drafting and negotiating financing documents. Her students, as had many associates at Andrews Kurth, benefited from her deep knowledge of financial transactions, her wise insights and her extensive real world experience. She taught her last class in the Spring of 2020.

Linda was a member of Bellaire Presbyterian Church where she served on the church council and was instrumental in the joyful merging of the church with Braeburn Presbyterian Church in 2006 to create ChristChurch Presbyterian. She remained an active member of ChristChurch until her death and served as a lay counselor to members of the congregation.

 In addition to Linda’s impressive academic and career achievements, Linda was a role model, mentor, advisor, friend, confidant and inspiration to the many whose lives she touched. She was a loving wife, mother, grandmother and friend who did her best to stress the importance of education, staying informed on current events and contributing to society as moral issues. She was proud to be part of a democratic society and took the importance of voting and participating in that process seriously. Linda was generous with her time, her talents and her possessions and was genuinely interested in people, treating them with compassion and concern. Above all, Linda loved her family, the health and well-being of her children and grandchildren being of the utmost concern to her.

Linda enjoyed her family, her dear friends, traveling, good meals, long conversations, her pets, her home, her church community and her colleagues in the legal community. She was grateful for all she had and had been given. She left an indelible mark and she will be fondly remembered and greatly missed by many.

 Linda was preceded in death by her parents, her brother Robert Ingols, Jr., her dear aunt Lois Ewers and her favorite cousin Joyce Elaine Huyett. She is survived by her husband, Richard, her children Richard F. Dole, III of Houston; Robert P. Dole and his partner Kimberly Weinberg of Austin; her daughter Mary Grace Dole Dayian and husband Daryl Dayian of Providence, Rhode Island and the great joys of her life, her grandchildren Hannah Ruby Dayian and Henry E. Dayian, as well as many dear friends and her loving church community.

A celebration of Linda’s life will take place on Sunday, August 16 at 10:00 am at Bradshaw-Carter in Houston, Texas, which, due to COVID gathering restrictions, will be for her immediate family only. Friends are invited to watch the service online live by clicking on the livestream link at the bottom of Linda’s obituary at www.bradshawcarter.com, beginning at 9:50 am. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that those wishing to make remembrances do so by contributing to ChristChurch Presbyterian in Bellaire or KUHF Houston Public Radio.

Please click here to watch the service live: https://www.oneroomstreaming.com/view/authorise.php?k=159719879471819