WESTERVILLE -- Gary Evans sits on a back patio. His two daughters, Carey and Dawne, are by his side.
Together, they remember the mother and the wife.
"[We are] devastated," Evans said. "No question about it. It's the worst feeling I've ever had in my life. She was the love of my life and we really miss her, dearly."
"My mom was always my rock," Carey Thomas said. "She's inspirational. She got up every day and ran. Every morning."
They remember Linda Evans, 68, who was killed Monday after Westerville police say she was struck by a vehicle off Park Meadow Road in Westerville.
Her family says Evans was doing what she loved: running.
"She was an avid runner," Evans said. "She just loved it. We met at the Boston Marathon."
That was in 1978. The couple had recently celebrated their 39th wedding anniversary.
Linda Evans had also just retired from Columbus City Schools in the Spring, where her family says she was a kindergarten teacher's aide at Linden STEM. They say she had been in the education field for about 30 years.
"She cared very deeply for all the children that she taught," Thomas said. "She loved it when all the kids would come and say 'Hello, Ms. Evans' to her."
Gary says for the past 38 years, his wife ran every day averaging 40 miles a week. She was currently training for the Columbus Marathon in October. It would have been her 68th marathon.
"She just loved running," Evans said. "[She] loved life in general. She was a wonderful, kind person."
It's how Evans' family is remembering her.
"Her smile and her sparkling eyes," Evans said. "Just her upbeat attitude."
"She was just such a breath of air for anybody that knew her," Dawne Stefanik said. "She would bring a smile to anybody's face and she just was one of the most charismatic people."
The runner. The retired teacher. The mother. The wife. The friend.
"She was always around and so it's going to be really sad to not have her around anymore," Thomas said. "It's devastating."
"I think Linda taught us all to embrace every moment because you never know when it's going to be the last one," Evans said.
Thomas says she now looks to run this year's Columbus Marathon in honor of her mother.
The family has started a memorial fund to cover costs of her services and to create a permanent memorial as a place of solace and remembrance. It will be placed either at a local park or one of her favorite running trails. To read more, click here.