Graveside funeral services for Mrs. Carrie Lee Heard Link age 86; will be held Thursday, November 18, 2010 at 2:00 p.m. at Greenwood Cemetery in Ruston under the direction of Kilpatrick Funeral Home of Ruston. Officiating will be Reverend James G. Benbrook of The Episcopal Church of the Redeemer. Carrie Lee was born on June 1, 1924 in Ruston from the union of Charles Raymond Heard and Mayme Cargill Heard and she passed away on Monday, November 15, 2010 after a brief illness. She was preceded in death by her parents as well as her son, John Raymond Link. Carrie Lee is survived by her husband George Hicks Link, her daughter Carolyn Link Firth and husband, Bill Firth, her son, Charles Heard Link as well as her sister, Priscilla Heard Bowman. She is also survived by her grandchildren, Chelsea Anne Firth and Brian Link Firth and many nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews. Carrie Lee attended Ruston High School and then Louisiana State University from which she graduated in 1945. While in Baton Rouge she met George Link, the love of her life with whom, after their marriage in 1949, she embarked on an adventurous life in which they lived and worked around the world. George's work in the oil business found the couple living in destinations as diverse as England, Iran, Peru, Venezuela, Libya, Saudi Arabia, New York and Denver. At each destination, Carrie Lee enthusiastically embraced the local culture and was conversant in Spanish, Indonesian and Arabic. She engaged in a fascinating array of hobbies including scuba diving, cooking, gardening, tennis, golf, horseback riding, hunting and fishing but always with her beloved husband by her side. Carrie Lee loved her family fiercely and loved life. She was a deeply devoted wife, mother, and grandmother who displayed unlimited generosity and compassion to everyone and always helped those around her to find the positive things in life. She will be missed dearly by those she left behind. Memorials may be made to Friends of Black Bayou at P.O. Box 9241, Monroe, Louisiana 71211 or the charity of your choice. Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.kilpatrickfuneralhomes.com