Lynda Jane Hargrove Showalter -- Waitress

 

Lynda Jane Hargrove Showalter

Lynda Jane Hargrove was born on January 20, 1941 in Cadiz, Kentucky.  She was the only child of Herbert Clifton Hargrove and Virginia Mae Daniel Hargrove. Both Herbert and Virginia were natives of Trigg County, Kentucky and Herbert was a great grandson of Charity Bridges Battoe.  Herbert worked as a truck mechanic and died in November 1940, two months before Lynda was born.  Lynda’s mother, Virginia subsequently remarried to Sherman Cothran of Trigg County and moved to Detroit, Michigan in 1942.

Lynda had three half-sisters, Aelia Jean Cothran, Betty Cothran Lizyness and Peggy Cothran Hayse, with whom she was very close.

Lynda grew up in Michigan and in 1957 at the age of 16, she married her first husband, Kenneth Locke.  The marriage did not last very long and they were soon divorced.  She and Kenneth had one child, Kenneth Deryl Locke, Jr.  Lynda’s first job was working at a Woolworth Drug Store in Detroit, but later began a career as a waitress.

Lynda worked as a waitress at Darby’s, a popular Detroit restaurant. One of the cooks at the restaurant was Herbert Showalter.  Lynda and Herbert became friends along with many other folks in the popular restaurant.  Darby’s was considered one of “Detroit’s finest Restaurant” and was “the place to be seen,” according to historical records on the establishment.

In 1965, Lynda and Herbert were married.  They both continued to work at Darby’s until the historic restaurant burned in 1968. Lynda and Herbert were the parents of three children, Scott Anthony Showalter, Lora Lisa Showalter and Kimberly Dawn Showalter. 

Over the years, Lynda worked as a waitress in a number of the Detroit area’s popular and respected restaurants including the Stage Deli Restaurant in West Bloomfield, Michigan, The Book Cadillac Hotel in downtown Detroit, Mr. B’s Roadhouse Restaurant in Clarkston, Michigan and the Sing Along Lounge Restaurant in Detroit. These are just a few of the fine restaurants that Lynda worked up in until 1970 when she was diagnosed with Myasthenia Gravis.

Over the years, Lynda became an avid seamstress and loved to knit, crochet, embroider and sew.  She made clothing for herself and her family.  In the mid-1970s, Lynda was featured in an article in the Detroit News showcasing the costumes she had made for her three younger children for Halloween.

Herbert died on May 2, 2010 at the age of 78 and was buried in the Great Lakes National Cemetery in Holly, Michigan.  Lynda died on July 17, 2019 at the age of 78 and was also buried in the Great Lakes National Cemetery in Holly.

Herbert Showalter

Lynda Hargrove Showalter tombstone

Herbert Showalter tombstone

LINEAGE:  (Lynda Jane Hargrove Showalter was the daughter of Herbert Clifton and Virginia Mae Daniel Hargrove and the granddaughter of John Henry and Dora Ellen Battoe Hargrove.  Dora was the third child of John Edwin and Malinda Hawkins Battoe.  John Edwin was the first child of James J. and Charity S. Bridges Battoe.  Charity was the tenth child of William and Mary Thomas Bridges.  William was the fourth child of Drury and Charity Cohoon Bridges.)