Linda Strater Poindexter was born on February 16, 1951, in Oxford, North Carolina to the late Elijah Edward Strater, Sr. and Beatrice Slaughter Strater. She departed this life on November 7, 2025, in Morristown, New Jersey. She attended John Nichols School. The Oxford Orphanage, Oxford, North Carolina and was in the class of 1969. She was the first African American to graduate from John Nichols School.

She is survived by a stepson Craig Poindexter Sr.;  astep grandson, Craig Jr; two sisters, Carolyn S. Meredith of Hackettstown, New Jersey and Janice S. Downey of Oxford, North Carolina; one brother, Elijah Edward Strater, Jr. of Oxford, North Carolina and a host of othe close relatives and friends.