Gena Linder Parker (left) and her mother, Hazel Linder. Both women were murdered Wednesday. The words and tears flowed while former teachers and friends struggled to comprehend the sudden loss of two Cherokee County educators.

Hazel Linder and her daughter Gena Parker were found shot to death Wednesday afternoon.

On Thursday, memories were shared by friends and church members at Cherokee Creek Baptist Church.

Hazel taught world geography at West Junior High for many years while Gena was a teacher at Mary Bramlett and Grassy Pond elementaries.

Retired Cherokee County educator Dr. Zara Barnhill attended church with Hazel Linder and Gena Linder Parker at Cherokee Creek Baptist Church in the Grassy Pond community.

"Gena was the most bubbly teacher I ever had. She was full of joy and loved kids," said Barnhill, Linder's principal at Grassy Pond Elementary.

Grassy Pond Elementary teacher Terri Bridges taught third grade classes just down the hall from Parker during the 2000-2001 school year. Parker moved away the following year when her husband, Scott, was hired to become the head football coach at T.L. Hanna High School.

Bridges remembers Linder for her positive outlook on life and ability to find humor in any situation.

"Gena was a wonderful person. She had a bubbling personality and was very happy," Bridges said. "If you were ever in a bad mood, you could always depend on Gena to bring you up. She made the best out of what was doled out to her in life."

Tom Bratton opened the door last Sunday morning for Hazel Linder while she made her way into the church service for the final time. Bratton and Linder were both Wofford College graduates and shared a common interest in the fortunes of their alma mater's sports teams.

"If there ever was a saint on earth, it was Hazel Linder. She was always gracious, a perfect lady. God was the number-one focus in her life," Bratton said. "She will be terribly missed and left an impression in all of our hearts."

Former Cherokee County School Board member Danny Stacy got to know Linder really well while he was growing up. His father, Wofford, played in a square dance band with Hazel's husband, B.E. Linder Jr.

GENA PARKER "Hazel and her husband were good friends of my parents. Hazel was a very genteel Southern lady," Stacy said. "When my mother was sick with cancer for 2 1/2 years, Hazel would visit quite often and bring meals to my mother."

Gaffney resident Joyce Beason will always remember spending a week of vacation on a charter bus trip with Hazel Linder. Hazel's husband, B.E., was the school principal when Beason's children Billy and John attended West End Elementary.

"I have a lot of fond memories of Hazel and her husband. They were patriarchs in anything they did. They were good, wholesome and pure people," said Beason, a longtime executive director of the Cherokee County Senior Center in Gaffney. "Hazel was a kind, wonderful person who took a personal interest in people. Once you knew Hazel, she was a friend for life."

Gena's favorite Bible verse was Ephesians 4:32, "And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another even as God in Christ forgave you."

"Gena was all those things, kind, tenderhearted and forgiving — and so much more. Her mother, Hazel, was a wonderful, spiritual influence on everyone. Both these remarkable women should be remembered more for how they lived than how they died," said Denise Hammett, who grew up with Gena. "They lived their lives in service for our Lord Jesus Christ and that is a comfort in the aftermath of this tragedy to those of us who knew and loved them. They will both be profoundly missed."