BARBARA “Bobbie” LINKOUS QUEEN of Wilmington, NC died on January 5, 2026. She was born on October 5, 1948 in Huntington, WV to Carl and Theresa Linkous.
She is survived by her husband of 56 years, Mike Queen; her children, Brett (Amy) Queen of Wilmington, NC and Amy (Jason) Knight of Greensboro, NC; and her four grandchildren, Joshua Knight, Jacob Knight, Kamryn Queen, and Emma Grace Knight. She is also survived by her brother Carl “Moe” (Becky) Linkous, Jr. of Huntington, along with numerous cousins, nieces, and nephews. Bobbie is a graduate of Marshall University and taught first grade in Wayne County, WV.
She and her business partner, Karen Harmon, owned and operated six Cold Stone Creamery stores across North Carolina.
She married a guy she thought was going to be in the supermarket business and live forever in West Virginia. But God’s call changed both of their lives forever. The sacrifices she made to support him were not insignificant. At every turn, she was incredibly supportive of Mike and his ministry. From teaching children, to chaperoning youth on mission trips, to singing in the choir, to organizing countless events, and to cooking for 200+ on Wednesday nights at the church for more than seven years, she always said ‘yes’.
Devoted is the only way to describe her investment in her two children. She loved them both and cherished every minute spent with them. Both they and their spouses cared for her in the most loving ways possible. Apart from being a wonderful wife and mother, she was an even better Grammy. When they were younger, the grandchildren loved to come to Wilmington for a week of Camp Grammy each summer. All of that culminated when they got older with a trip out west, and the girls coming for cooking camp in Grammy’s kitchen. She and Mike enjoyed three passions they pursued across the years: travel, Wake Forest sports, and music concerts. They met when Mike moved across the street from her when he was 15 and she was but 12. After he met her that first day, he told his mother that he would marry her someday. He said of her, “She was always the prettiest girl in the room.”
A special thanks goes to her two nieces, Carolee Hale and Shannon Pipkin, and her friends who cared for her weekly later in life: Pam Fallis, Dee Worrell, Carol Rosborough, Jean Wachtel, India Causey, and so many more from First Baptist Church. Special thanks to the Memory Partners and Hospice Teams at Lower Cape Fear WellCare. No words can capture our family’s gratitude to the entire awesome team who cared for her these last few months at Bradley Creek Memory Care.
A celebration of her life will be held at First Baptist Church, 411 Market St., Wilmington, NC 28401 on Saturday, January 10th at 1:00pm. Memorials may be made to the church or to Lower Cape Fear LifeCare, who supported our family over the last seven years. A live stream of the service may be viewed on the First Baptist Church YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/@fbcwilmington1808) starting at 12:30pm.