Sue Best

Lina Sue Best, age 95, of Lindale, Texas, formerly of Woodville, Texas, passed away on October 3, 2025. She was born May 2, 1930, in Wichita Falls, Texas, to Hubert and Mildred Pipkin. She was the oldest of their four children. Sue was preceded in death by her father, Hubert Oliver Pipkin; mother, Mildred Ariel Jones Pipkin; husband, Jack Glen Best; son, Randy Glen Best; sister, June Cornwell; and brother H. O. “Sonny” Pipkin Jr. She is survived by her son, Kevin Lynn Best, and wife Joy of Lindale, TX; daughter, Barbi Suzanne Silkwood and husband, Tony of Pleasanton, TX; daughter-in-law, Beth Best of Port Neches, TX; sister, Jerry Nell Smith of Weatherford, OK; six grandchildren, ten great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren.

Sue graduated from Wichita Falls Senior High School at the age of 16 and later attended Draughon’s School of Business also in Wichita Falls. There she learned valuable skills such as shorthand, a tool she never stopped using. Her handwriting was the most perfect you’ll find. Her family attended the First Assembly of God Church in Wichita Falls. It was there that she met Jack Best, a young airman in the US Air Force who was stationed at Sheppard Air Force Base.  They were married on July 14, 1951, and were together until Jack died in 2014.  They moved to Nederland, Texas, and started a family.  Jack started a career as an electrician at the Texaco Refinery in Port Arthur, Texas.  They had two boys and adopted a beautiful little blond-haired girl in 1968.  They built their lives around the First Assembly of God Church in Nederland, Texas.  Sue worked for a number of years at the Bible Book Store in Bridge City and Port Arthur and taught bible studies both at church and in her home throughout her adult life.  She had a beautiful soprano voice, a talent she also used to give glory to her Savior.  After their retirement, they moved to Woodville and found a new church to serve, Agape Church in Colmesneil.  They enjoyed gardening and traveling in an RV.  Several years after Jack’s passing, Sue moved to Lindale near Kevin and Joy.  She made many new friends and also became a member of First Baptist Church in Lindale.  She moved into an assisted living facility in February 2025 and continued her Christian witness to a whole new group of young women who were her caregivers.  They, along with Sue’s surviving family and friends, benefited from Sue’s faithful witness to our Savior, Jesus Christ.  May we all be found as true to Him as she was.

The funeral service will be held on Saturday, October 11, 2025, at 12:00 p.m. at Riley Funeral Home Chapel, with burial to follow at Mt. Pisgah Cemetery in Woodville, Texas.  Visitation will be held on Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at the funeral home.  Sue’s grandson, Samuel Best, will officiate.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in memory of our loved one to Gideon’s International, P.O. Box 507, Lindale, Texas 75771.

Serving as pallbearers will be John Best, Jared Best, Jackson Best, Stephan Hughes, Tony Silkwood, and Brent Womack. 

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