Elizabeth Lindsay Wall

Elizabeth Lindsay Wall left us on Sunday evening January 28, 2024, when she concluded her fierce battle with respiratory illness. Her last few months with us were yet another demonstration of her incredible fighting spirit, fending off multiple hospitalizations and other travails. The family is heartbroken at our loss but grateful that she is finally at peace, after such an arduous fight. Elizabeth, “Libba” was born on July 19, 1937, just minutes before her twin sister Katherine Elizabeth Lindsay in Knoxville, Tennessee to parents John Oliver Lindsay and Lillie Powell Smith Lindsay. Their older brother Columbus Powell Lindsay (Powell) was born three years prior in April of 1934. From the outset the “Lindsay Twinseys” were quite the stir among the Lyons View community. They were inseparable and equally indistinguishable, both full of life, energy and yes, a little mischief. Libba attended West High School in its inaugural year, 1951, and the Madeira School in McLean, Virginia. She matriculated to Bennett College in Millbrook, New York. After one year at Bennett, she returned to Knoxville and continued her education at the University of Tennessee, graduating in 1959. In the fall of 1956, she was introduced to Charles Trawick Dudley, Jr. (Charlie) of Columbus, Georgia, by her life-long friend Joe Sullivan – Charlie’s roommate at Princeton University. They were married in December of 1960 and became proud parents of two children, James Johnson Dudley (Jimmy) in September of 1962 and Katherine Lindsay Dudley (Kitty) in October of 1963. Libba was an active member of the Knoxville community for over sixty years. Some of her most beloved relationships centered around her volunteerism, in particular with the Cancer Support Community East Tennessee. She was also very generous with her resources, giving extensively to causes close to her heart. Libba was a long-term supporter of the College of Architecture and Design at UT. In 2012 she established the James Johnson Dudley Faculty Scholar Award honoring her son, Jimmy (SoA ‘86) and stepson Scott Wall (SoA ‘83). The award supports “faculty research because it not only enables innovations that benefit our world, but it also gives opportunity to students to assist and learn from their professors’ research. As an endowment, the award will go on doing that in perpetuity.” Beyond her service and philanthropic efforts, Libba had many other interests. She was a faithful parishioner at First Presbyterian Church, Knoxville. She was an active member of Knox Heritage and the Knoxville Garden Club, having served as past Treasurer. She was also affiliated with the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America and was inducted into their Role of Honor in 2023. Libba was also quite an athlete. She was a field hockey player at Madeira and a repeat club champion in lady’s golf at Cherokee Country Club in 1970 and 1971, following in the footsteps of her mother, a fellow Cherokee club champion, and setting the stage for her daughter, who won more club championships than this author can recall. Libba was truly gifted at building and sustaining relationships. In 1992 Libba married Dr. James Wheland Wall (Jim) and had a loving and devoted relationship with him that lasted 24 wonderful years, until “Doc Doc’s” passing in 2016. Their time together was filled with joy and adventure, including trips to far off destinations such as South Africa and Las Mañanitas in Mexico. Theirs was a special relationship, full of love and unwavering support for one another and their respective families. Libba’s love for her children, by birth or by marriage, was steadfast. If one word could define her, it would be loyal. She was fiercely loyal, and heaven help anyone who dare pose a threat. She cemented a deep family bond between the Walls and the Dudleys that is truly unbreakable. As is the relationship with the Davis family led by the deceased William E. Davis, Jr. (Will), whom Libba had known since her childhood. Libba, Jimmy and Kitty cherished their relationship with Will. He and his family have been a blessing beyond all measure. Libba’s loves were flowers, cooking, bridge, Petros, and Krystal burgers, ABBA, White Lilly Flour, Elkmont, the Lady Vols, games of all stripes, but most certainly Sudoku, the West Chase community, First Presbyterian Church, her many friends, her cherished family, and all things Knoxville. She also shared her grandmother’s disdain for squirrels. The family is grateful for all the support that has been given to her, including Claramae Johnson who lovingly assisted her before her move to Northshore Heights, along with the staff of Northshore Heights. Libba is preceded in passing by her parents John Oliver and Lillie Powell Lindsay, her twin sister Katherine Elizabeth Lindsay, beloved daughter Kitty Garner, and loving husband Jim. She is survived by her son Jimmy Dudley and his wife Sloan of Charlotte, North Carolina and their three children Will, Woodson, and Hallie; her son-in-law Frederic Howard Garner (Ted) of Charlotte and his and Kitty’s four children Lindsay, Teddy, Mebane, and Cameron; her sister Katherine’s husband Terrance Fails of Nashville, Tennessee and his two children Terrance and Garth; her brother Powell Lindsay and his wife Malinda of Bethesda, Maryland and their three children Robert, his wife Michelle and his daughter Tyler, John, his wife Elaine and their daughter Amanda, and William and his wife Jennifer; Katherine’s daughter Mebane Jackson (Mebbie) of Knoxville, her husband Jesse Williams and Mebbie’s two children Bailey and Alexa and Alexa’s husband Cody. She is also survived by three stepsons, Scott Wheland Wall and his wife Laura of Knoxville and their four children Ann-Elise, twins Megan and Graham and wife Joanna, and Windsor, her husband Gus Rivera and their daughter, Libba’s only great grandchild, Louisa Faye Rivera; Jeffrey James Wall of Knoxville and his two children, Grace and Turley; Douglas Leonard Wall and his wife Heather of Greenville, South Carolina and their two children Mark and Alex. A memorial service for Libba will be held on Thursday, March 7 at 1:00 PM at the First Presbyterian Church, Knoxville. A private grave site service will precede the memorial service. The family will receive friends in the Fellowship Hall after the service. In lieu of flowers please consider supporting the Cancer Support Community East Tennessee and/or First Presbyterian Church.

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Elizabeth Lindsay Wall

July 19, 1937 - January 28, 2024