MYRTLE POINT - Three years have passed since Linda Kinney oversaw the Coos County Fair's flowering entries, but she still is fondly remembered as the flower lady to those who knew and worked beside her.

“People expected to see her every year. She was just the flower lady,” said Avis Cribbins, the superintendent of the floral department, who took over for Kinney with the help of two assistants. “It's a real loss for the fair.”

Kinney, 58, died on June 29 in Coos Bay.

Although no plans have been officially set to honor the Coos Bay native, Cribbins said a bench, plaque, tree or other memorial will be placed at the fairgrounds to honor Kinney for her 17 years of service to the annual event.

“We definitely want her name on something as an acknowledgment,” Cribbins said. “She definitely added a touch of beauty to the fair ... a place where people could come out of the heat, enjoy the beauty and sit a spell.”

A potluck remembrance was held in the grove at the Coos County Fairgrounds on July 11, for the former superintendent.

Cribbins said she used to enter her own flowers in the fair and began helping Kinney with the show when the former superintendent began experiencing health problems about six years ago.

She said neither she, nor Kinney, had any professional floral experience, but they did share a love of flowers and providing a rich fair experience to participants.

“It's just so much fun to see their faces when they've won a ribbon, and just look at the color we get to work with and smell. It's great,” Cribbins said, while standing in front of rows of orange, yellow and pink gladiolus.

The first year Cribbins, Shawn Hukari and Glenda Senf took over the department for Kinney was quite hectic. Kinney had gone to the hospital just three days before the fair opened. Although the women rushed to unwrap and clean display bottles and deal with other minutiae for the exhibit, Cribbins said Kinney did leave the effort as a fairly well-oiled machine, which has made following years easier to handle.

“The first year was just crazy,” Cribbins said. “(But) we are pretty much doing what we've always done.

“She had it set up well and we just kind of followed in her footsteps.”

Karen Dagit, the superintendent of the Land Products exhibit, which includes entries of unusually large onions and cabbage, as well as picture-perfect cherries and tomatoes, said she knew Kinney for about five years and is saddened by her loss.

“I always thought she was a fun, fun person,” Dagit said, reminiscing about the laughter that would fill the flower exhibit hall. “She was passionate about being the floral person down there and she wanted to make sure everyone had a good time when they came to the fair.”

Recalling Kinney's kindness, Dagit told a story of how the floral superintendent found a child crying at the fountain outside of the exhibit hall.

“His knee was skinned up and bleeding and he thought he was dying. (She) dried his tears and wrapped his little knee up,” Dagit said. “She'd always run out to little kids and wipe their tears.

“I'm just going to always miss Linda's smile.”