Obituary for Linda L. Kirschenman

Linda L. Kirschenman (April 18th, 1938 - July 26th, 2019) was born to Betty and William (Bill) Howard in Sand Lake, Michigan. She was the fourth child of 6; Robert (Bob) (Howard), Patricia (Pat) (Lowery), Bonnie (Weiber), and twins Jack (Howard) and Jill (Figge). Linda went to high school in Portland, Michigan and graduated class of 1956. During high school she met James (Jim) Kirschenman from Alto, Michigan. They married and had four sons; Kenneth (Ken), Mark, Eric and Kurt. After moving to various parts of the country, including Virginia and California, they settled with all four boys in Ketchikan, Alaska where they lived for 12 years. After her career in Mental Health Administration Services with the State of Alaska, Linda and Jim, with Kurt in tow, sold almost everything they owned and moved to Florida where they bought a 43’ sailboat and traveled throughout the Bahamas and Florida for 2 ½ years. When their sailing adventure came to an end, they moved to Wilmington, NC for a short time and then moved to Yuba City, CA. Jim work with US Government near Yuba City, which helped align them for their next big adventure. When Kurt graduated high school in 1987, the three of them moved to Heidelberg, Germany where they lived for nearly three years. While living in Germany, Linda worked as a Civil Service Administrative Manager for US Army Europe Command. Linda and Jim separated in 1990 and she and Kurt moved to Reno, Nevada where son Mark and his daughter, Sophia, resided. After a few years of working and living in Reno, Linda moved back to Ketchikan, Alaska where 2 sons Ken and wife Tamie lived with their two children, Xanth and Xina as well as Eric and his two children Savannah and Cache. After two years Linda chose to retire to Portland, Michigan where siblings Pat and Bonnie lived nearby. For many years, Linda, along with siblings Pat (Fred) and Bonnie (Joe) were avid snowbirds, spending summers in Michigan and winters in Florida. Linda soon made Bonita Springs, Florida her permanent home. She lived in Citrus Park year-round for a couple of years until she moved to San Diego with her son Kurt, his wife Dyan and two granddaughters, Madeira and Cambria. Linda returned to Reno in 2013 where she lived nearby and then resided with her son Mark before her passing.

Linda was an avid lover of music. Her singing included Sweet Adeline’s, church choirs and singing karaoke songs from her favorite artist, Patsy Cline. In the last months of her life, she developed a love of John Denver. Linda was a gifted tole painter, creating beautiful works of art she lovingly shared with her family. Linda was also a skilled and talented quilter and she produced many quilts and pillows for sons and grandchildren that are cherished dearly. Linda loved playing cards, doing word searches and watching Westerns. Oh how she loved her Westerns!

Linda is survived by her four sons; Ken, Mark, Eric and Kurt; four siblings; Robert (Howard), Bonnie (Weiber), Jack (Howard) and Jill (Figge): 13 grandchildren (Ken) Xanth, Xina; (Mark) Sophia; (Eric) Ashley, Savannah, Cache, Daniel, Jaden, Levi, Alex, Kadia; (Kurt) Madeira, Cambria and four great grandchildren: (Xanth) Freya, Lyra; (Ashley) Keira, Hayden.