Linda Lea Shurden

On November 20, 2025, at the age of 67, Linda Lea Shurden left this world surrounded by the love of her family and closest friends after a brave and unwavering fight against pancreatic cancer. Even as her illness progressed, Linda held onto her mental strength, sense of humor, and deep appreciation for the people she loved. She never let the illness define her.

Linda’s story began in Chicago, Illinois where she grew up surrounded by the love of her parents, Dorothy and Edward, and her siblings Susan, Cherie, and Eddie. Some of her happiest memories from those years were nights spent dancing in discos with her sisters and friends—stories she loved retelling to her daughters, proudly calling herself a “dancing queen” whenever ABBA played.

Her life took a beautiful turn when she moved to Rancho Cucamonga, California. It was there that Linda met the man who became the love of her life, Neal Shurden. Their story emerged spontaneously: a close mutual friend had extra tickets to a Jimmy Buffett concert, and fate took care of the rest. By the end of the night, Neal and Linda shared their first kiss—one that led to a marriage filled with warmth, partnership, and a shared sense of adventure. Together, they welcomed their daughters, Mia and Kinsey, while building a family life full of laughter, road trips, music, and a deep, lasting love.

When Neal accepted a job in Wisconsin, the family started a new chapter. There, Linda showed once again the strength and determination that defined her, returning to school and earning a Master’s degree in business, following an early career in nursing and the pharmaceutical industry. With her new degree and wanting to build something of her own, she became the successful owner of Comfort Keepers in St. Croix Valley. Through her work, Linda became a source of compassion and stability for families navigating some of their hardest moments.

Linda’s interests were as vibrant as she was. She loved to cook delicious food while dancing and singing to Fleetwood Mac, Tina Turner, and Adele. She had a remarkable green thumb—her home flourished with plants lovingly tended under her care, some decades old. She devoured books, often finishing a new one each week and always recommending the best. She was unbeatable in Scrabble, though many have tried. She shared a special passion for beekeeping with her daughter Kinsey, always delighted to gift jars of honey to friends and family. She enjoyed getting dressed up for a night out, savoring a good dinner with a martini before settling into a theater seat for a Broadway musical. Even during her illness, Linda poured her creativity and eye for beauty into designing her dream home from top to bottom. Her zest for life through traveling the world never diminished, bringing her as far as Greece in the first year of her diagnosis, and as local as her beloved Apalachicola just months ago.

Linda leaves behind a legacy of love, resilience, adventure, joy, and an unbelievably large collection of vintage keys—one that will always be appreciated by her daughters, her family, and all who were lucky enough to know her. Though she will be forever missed, her spirit lives on—in the flowers she nurtured, the books she loved, the honey she crafted, the home she designed, and most of all, in the hearts of the people who loved her.

Linda is preceded in death by parents Edward Kohlegk and Lola Dorothy Kohlegk. She is also preceded by her wonderful husband, Neal, with whom she shared a love story that never truly ended. Her family finds comfort in imagining them together once again—dancing to their song “La Bamba”, sharing a cheeseburger in paradise, and picking up right where they left off.

She leaves behind her darling daughters, as she called them, Mia and Kinsey, her siblings, extended family, dear lifelong friends, and the many people whose lives she touched through her work and her kindness.