Remembering Honorary President General Linda Watkins

The National Society mourns the loss of Honorary President General Linda Tinker Watkins, who passed away on January 16, 2025.

“Linda was an incredible woman and an impactful President General who advanced our National Society greatly during her term. She made a difference in the lives of many Daughters with her kindness, dignity and strong faith.  She brought the National Society forward through a myriad of improvements including members being listed by given names instead of husbands’ names. Linda gave me the opportunity to serve the National Society with my first appointment to a national committee.  She was a dear friend, a steadfast mentor and she will be missed.”

- President General Pamela Wright

As President General, Mrs. Watkins sought to increase membership, to improve public relations, and to develop additional sources of revenue. Her President General’s Project, “Preserving Our Family Tree,” digitized DAR applications and supplemental applications, and laid the groundwork for the development of new revenues. The project developed the computer architecture to store and access numerous records, including: the approximately 17,000 Genealogical Records Index, 420,000 member records, more than 700,000 member soft cards, 811,000 four-page DAR applications, 300,000 ancestor cards and 9 million supporting documents. The new Document Management Office ensured that original documents and manuscripts would be preserved and secured and began the task of making these records available online. 

Mrs. Watkins was a strong leader, a mentor for many generations of Daughters, and dedicated her life to advancing the National Society. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family.