Madeline “Linbe” Beatrice Sharpe Blackford

Madeline “Linbe” Beatrice Sharpe Blackford, 73, of Salter Path, North Carolina, passed away peacefully at her home on Monday, April 14, 2025, with her family by her side.

A celebration of life and a “surfers paddle out” will be held at 4 p.m., on Saturday, May 31st at the Oceanana Pier House 700 E Fort Macon Rd., Atlantic Beach, NC 28512.

Madeline, affectionately known by all as Linbe, was born on September 11, 1951, in Newton, New Jersey, to the late John Edwin Sharpe and Patricia Ann Mooney Sharpe.

Linbe loved living on the coast, where she remained active and fit through her passions for surfing, swimming, and running. She embraced the salt life, enjoying all activities related to the water, including fishing and oystering. The biggest joy of her life was her daughter Sashell, who will carry her memories forever.

While she loved the water, she was also a very successful businesswoman. She owned three different establishments with her husband. First, they started up the business called the Kop Shop, they had locations in Havelock, NC, Atlantic Beach, NC and Morehead City, NC. The Insinerator which was located in Atlantic Beach, NC, and Bushwackers, their most successful business owned together which was in Emerald Isle, NC.

Linbe loved effortlessly, when she did things she did them from the passion of her heart. She always wanted to make the world a better place for the people around her. If you ever got to meet her, you’d know she always had a smile on her face.

Those remaining to cherish her memory are her husband, Albert Wade Blackford Jr.; daughter, Sashell Blackford of Atlantic Beach, NC; and her siblings, John Patrick Sharpe, Colleen Mary Tibbles, and Marjorie Allyn Sharpe McNeish; along with many nieces and nephews.

In addition to her parents, Linbe was preceded in death by her brother, Gregory Hugh Sharpe.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the North Carolina Aquarium Society.

Linbe would want us all to “Go have some fun.”

Family and friends are welcome to submit online condolences at www.mundenfuneralhome.net.

Arrangements by Munden Funeral Home & Crematory in Morehead City, NC.