Longing to Belong
Linda Kay (Saunders) Von Gunten (81) was born on July 23, 1942 in Goshen, Indiana. After her birth, her grandmother and aunt helped raise her, until her father Paul Saunders married Alice Vincent. Later, Paul and Alice added daughter Sandra to the family. Linda found it difficult reintegrating between family members.
Throughout Linda’s childhood, Paul and Alice frequently moved the family from the Midwest and the West. In her Senior year of high school, Linda refused to be uprooted again.
Shortly thereafter, Linda met Fred Von Gunten. Within a couple of years, they were married on August 15, 1964. After Fred graduated from the school of optometry at Indiana University, Linda and Fred moved to the east side of Detroit, Michigan to start their family. Todd was born in 1968 and Lisa was born in 1971. Linda began to build a sense of belonging as she nurtured her family of four.
Her husband and children found Linda to be consoling, loving and observant. She had a quiet, calm and centering force. Linda was a courageous caregiver, persistent and perseverant. She was fierce in finding a way.
What Linda provided for her family, she also carried these traits and the longing to belong throughout her relationships with others. With anyone Linda encountered from friends, co-workers, church leadership, or even the simplest of exchanges with people, she would extend a sense of belonging. Linda genuinely listened to and heard others with an authentic concern for what was happening in their lives. Upon discovering that Linda had died, many people from her day to day life expressed remorse but also how compassionately she had made a connection in their lives.
Linda is survived by her husband Fred Von Gunten of Hudson, Florida; her children Todd (Rebecca) Von Gunten of Casper, Wyoming and Lisa (Chris) Spence of New Port Richey, Florida. She was especially fond and proud of her grandchildren Max, Jake and Zoë. Linda has also been remembered and love by numerous other friends and family members, including nieces and nephews.
Linda passed away peacefully on September 22, 2023 surrounded by family with the assistance of Limestone County Hospice care. We are thankful for her life with us and that she found with us a place to belong.
An interment service will be announced at a later date.
