`INCREDIBLE MOTHER' DAD, FIVE KIDS MOURN LOSS.

Byline: Bhavna Mistry Staff Writer

VALENCIA - A Valencia mother of five killed in a traffic collision Saturday was described Monday as the ultimate mom, a giving woman and a devoted churchgoer who had a heart for those who were troubled.

Linda Ann White, 38, of Valencia died in a crash near Barstow on her way home from her in-laws' home in Arizona, where she had just dropped off her two youngest kids for a two-week summer vacation.

``She was a wonderful woman and the most incredible mother,'' said Carol Steele, a friend. ``She was very giving and had a heart for the underdog.''

White had dropped off her 8- and 9-year-old sons in Kingman, Ariz., and was on her way home. It was 6:55 a.m. as she headed west on rural Interstate 40 when her 1988 Saab drifted from the fast lane to the slow lane and onto the shoulder.

She swerved back onto the highway and hit the wheel of a semitruck, sending both vehicles careening off the roadway. White's Saab overturned.

``Linda Ann White, who was not wearing her seat belt, was ejected as her vehicle overturned into the desert,'' said CHP Officer Matt Hunt. ``Due to the force sustained as a result of being ejected, she died at the scene. Had she remained in the vehicle, she would have survived.''

Ken White, worried when his wife was several hours late getting home, thought perhaps her car had broken down and went to find her. He was on the road between Victorville and Barstow when he got a call on his cell phone telling him that his wife had died.

``We wanted to quit living when we found out,'' White said. ``You don't heal from a hole in your heart like this.''

Linda White gave birth at home, home-schooled her children, adopted the youngest, now 5, and worked at the family's church.

``If someone needed help, she was there for them,'' her husband said. ``She had a real servant's heart.''

On Monday, Jonathan, 16; Talya, 14; Anthony, 9; Myles, 8; and Deyli, 5; played, jumped rope in the back yard or watched TV, and stoically remembered their mom.

``I can't believe how much she did,'' Anthony said. ``She would clean the house, take care of us and read us books. She was a really good teacher.''

Anthony held a teddy bear close - it smelled like their mother, the children said - then placed it on a book shelf of trophies and other memorabilia.

His mother gave him the brown shaggy bear with the plaid tie just hours before she headed home. With the bear came a note.

``I will really miss you while you are gone, but I know you will have a good time,'' the note read. ``If you get a little bit homesick, just give this bear a big hug and know that I am thinking about you. Be a blessing. I love you.''

Talya said their mother often gave them stuffed animals, notes and packs of Gummi Bears when they were separated for a few days.

Anthony and Myles were to spend the next two weeks traveling to Montana and Utah with their grandparents. Instead they came home early after learning the news, stopping at the crash site on the way home, where they found a pen that had belonged to their mother.

White said his wife had sacrificed her career goals to take care of her family.

``She had a desire to go to law school,'' White said. ``She gave up her aspirations to raise her kids.''

It was at a basketball game for home-schooled children where Linda White met Deyli, whom the couple later adopted and gave her the middle name Joy.

Deyli, just 9 months at the time, was with her foster mother. Her nose was running; her bottle was propped up. Linda White asked to hold Deyli, one of six siblings in foster care, children who had been neglected by their biological mother. Linda White instantly fell in love with the baby, who reached for her, a sparkle in her eyes.

``She came home and said, 'I fell in love with a baby today,''' Ken White said. ``That's just the kind of person she was.''

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Ken White, left, of Saugus and his children, from left, Jonathan, Myles, Anthony, Deyli and Talya show a family photo.

(2) Linda White had just dropped off two of her children when her car drifted off the freeway.

David R. Crane/Staff Photographer