Stigler, OK - Linda Gayle (Ragle) Risenhoover was born September 25, 1945 on the family farm in Havana, Oklahoma, where she grew up and attended school, until the time she entered grade school at Stigler. The family moved for her father's work, living in Pawnee, Skiatook, and Talihina, before returning to Stigler.

When Linda was growing up, her mother made sure she was in church every time the doors were open. She was a farm girl at heart and talked about mounting her horse bareback from the porch when her dad wasn't home to help her saddle it. Being raised on the farm and in church, she developed a strength and independence in her childhood that served her well in life, as she married, raised kids, and became a business owner.

Linda married Marvin Risenhoover at the Assembly of God Church in Stigler, on January 1st, 1962. She graduated from Warner High School in 1963. Marvin and Linda moved to Tahlequah for Marvin to complete his education, and that's where Linda began raising the first of their four boys. They moved to Sarcoxie, Missouri, for work and this is where their second son was born. Shortly thereafter, the family relocated to Haskell, Oklahoma where Marvin coached for nine years and their third and fourth sons were born.

In 1975, the family moved to Tahlequah where the children were advised they would have the opportunity to get a college education. Marvin and Linda purchased two restaurants, and Linda took over management of Risenhoover's Southside Drive-In, which she owned and operated for 28 years. When working on the books for the restaurant, Marvin would say, "Your mother did it again!" She managed to grow their businesses, even as Tahlequah grew and she began competing with restaurant chains such as McDonald's, Arby's, Braum's and Wendy's.

Linda was one of the nicest people you could meet, and she loved talking with people and always wanted to talk about them and find out what was going on in their lives. She enjoyed seeing her customers and visiting with them during the years she owned the drive-in, and missed that most when they retired and moved to Stigler in 2007. Linda was a wonderful cook, and enjoyed cooking on holidays and other family occasions, seldom using a recipe; her most important ingredient being love.

Her greatest accomplishment and the thing she was most proud of was raising her four boys. She always had a smile on her face when talking about them and spent many years in the football stands cheering them on as they played football, and later, as two of them coached. She supported each one of them in everything they did and loved them endlessly. Linda finally got her girls when her sons married, and she always enjoyed visiting with them and listening to all of their stories, and they adored her. Her love for her boys spilled into the love she had for each of her grandchildren and great grandchildren. She always kept up with what they were doing and loved attending all of their events.

If you knew Linda, you know she had a sense of humor. That sense of humor remained with her until the end and created memories her family will cherish forever.

The family she built and the love she shared is her greatest legacy. Her family already misses her, dearly, and will cherish the memories made and the time they were blessed to spend with her.

Linda Gayle (Ragle) Risenhoover was born September 25, 1945 in Havana, Oklahoma to Neil and Johnnie Bell (Maxwell) Ragle. She passed away on February 12, 2026 in Tulsa, Oklahoma at the age of 80.

She is survived by:

Four sons:

Randal and Stacy Risenhoover of Verdigris, OK

Rick and Jayme Risenhoover of Broken Arrow, OK

Chris and Melanie Risenhoover of Hulbert, OK

Craig and Darcy Risenhoover of Muldrow, OK

Fourteen grandchildren

Eighteen great-grandchildren

Her sisters:

Barbara and Glen Rogers of Stigler, OK

Sherry and Bobby Risenhoover of Stigler, OK

Numerous nieces and nephews

Linda was preceded in death by her husband of 60 years, Marvin Risenhoover and her parents, Neil and Johnnie Bell Ragle.

Funeral Services will be held at 2:00 P.M. on Thursday, February 19, 2026 at Mallory Chapel. Interment will follow at Stigler City Cemetery under the direction of Mallory-Martin Funeral Home and Crematory of Stigler.

Pallbearers: Connor Risenhoover ~ Calin Risenhoover ~ Spencer Risenhoover ~ Hayden Vencl ~ Drew Jackson ~ Ryan Pettus ~ Ethan McKay ~ Chase Bryant ~ Dylan Hight