CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) — Linda Dingle Gadson, one of the first four Black women to graduate from the College of Charleston, died Monday from health complications at age 76.

In 1972, Gadson and three others, Carrie Nesbitt Gibbs, Angela Brown Gilchrist and Audrey Dingle Cooper, crossed the College of Charleston graduation stage—the first Black women to do so. The milestone made an impact not only in the Lowcountry but across the nation.

“She would talk about the history and the chronology,” Linda Gadson’s son Shaytee Gadson said. “She never spoke about the fact that she was history. She was walking and living and breathing history and a trailblazer.”

During her time at the college, Gadson was also raising her oldest son, Reginald.

“How she made it and what she went through — with you know, spitting on her and ripping her clothes off her — and she kept on trying and calling on the name of Jesus,” Reginald Everett Gadson said.

Linda Gadson spent most of her life dedicated to her faith, family and nonprofit work with Rural Mission, Inc. throughout the Charleston area. Her three children said they hope she is remembered for her dedication to that work and for knowing what was right.

“We’ve watched Mama go to court with people, and she doesn’t have a lawyer,” said her daughter, Telley Lynnette Gadson. “We’ve watched her be a doctor and never been to medical school. We’ve watched her be a counselor and not have a degree in psychology — but she had a degree in mother wit that came from Big Mama.”

Her family said her faith drove her contributions during the civil rights movement.

“She believed the Bible — every word of it,” Telley Lynnette Gadson said. “There’s a Bible right around the corner on her prayer bench that has dates and times written where she prayed for people and highlighted the word.”

Shaytee said her voice was central to the impact she made.

“My mama was loud, and she spoke with her outside voice because she understood it’s very, very difficult for quiet women in this world to be heard,” he said. “And Linda Gadson lived to speak with that big boisterous, booming voice because she wanted to use that voice to help as many people as she could.”

Her death comes nearly seven months after her husband, Herbert Gadson, died on Jan. 2. He was the first Black mayor of the town of Hollywood.

“Mom had taught us that there are two ways to be healed,” Telley Lynnette Gadson said. “You can be healed in this natural body, or you can be healed eternally with God.”

Just two months ago, Linda Gadson attended the 2026 College of Charleston graduation ceremony, where her granddaughter walked across the same stage 54 years after she did.

Reginald said her faith carried her through every challenge she faced.

“She knew she had come this far and the Lord wasn’t going to leave her there,” he said.

Her deep roots in faith and family came into the shape of an anointment oil that is to heal and nurture Big Mama, Mama & Me Oil.

College of Charleston President Andrew T. Hsu said in a statement:

“Linda Dingle Gadson ’72 holds a special and enduring place in the history of the College of Charleston. As one of our first Black women graduates, she helped open doors for generations of students who followed, and she went on to live a life of service, faith and community impact. It was deeply moving to see her return to the Cistern Yard this spring to celebrate her granddaughter’s graduation, a powerful reminder that her legacy is not only part of our past, but very much alive in the lives of our students and alumni today. On behalf of the College of Charleston, I extend my heartfelt condolences to her family and to all who knew and loved her.”

A Christian Wake Celebration will be held on July 5 at 5 p.m. at Wesley United Methodist Church, 5100 Baptist Hill Road, Hollywood, SC.

A Celebration of Life Service will be on July 6 at 1 p.m. At Charleston First Assembly Church, Charleston, SC.