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Linda Anne Zender Obituary

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Linda Anne Zender

Issaquah, WA

March 18, 1962 - February 2, 2021

Linda Anne Zender Obituary

Linda was born in San Francisco, California on March 18, 1962 to her loving parents, Robert & Norma Parrish. She is the middle child of three girls, between her sisters Laura, and Lisa. She was raised in Seattle, Washington and attended Queen Anne High school, class of 1980. Growing up, she cherished her time visiting family each year in California and Hawaii. She later attended college at Western Washington University and graduated in 1984. At Western, she met the love of her life, or as she would say the guy who made her laugh like no one else, Don Zender. They exchanged their marriage vows on December 9th, 1989 at Sacred Heart Church in Bellingham. They celebrated their 31st Wedding anniversary last December. Linda and Don settled down in Seattle, where she worked as a Paralegal for over 16 years. In March of 1992, Linda & Don welcomed Monica Marie into the world. Linda was so excited to be a mother and was overwhelmed with joy to have Monica by her side. In 1995, Linda & Don celebrated the birth of their son, Lucas John. She was over the moon to have Luke, as she never had a brother and always wanted a little boy. Her perfect family was set. She was an amazing, loving mother to both Monica and Luke, dedicating her time to volunteering in their classrooms, providing each of them with every opportunity, and teaching them the values they have grown into today as amazing, young adults. Linda donated her time to several different charitable organizations. She fostered many wonderful relationships, creating lifelong personal friends, whom she cherished to this day. In 2007 Linda, Don & the kids built a beautiful second home in eastern Washington on the Columbia River. Better known as the “River House." Over time, this became one of Linda’s favorite places to be. Like everywhere she went, she sparked many amazing friendships with families who lived in the community, now known as their “River Family." Linda loved boating, sipping good wine, and soaking up the beautiful summers. Don and Linda cherished hosting their friends & family at the River, simply to celebrate & enjoy life with "No Have-To's." Many of her most favorite memories throughout her life were at the River House. In 2015, Linda & Don celebrated Monica’s marriage to the love of her life, Marco. With the exchange of vows, a new extension of the family was added - the Gonzales family. Throughout the years, the two families celebrated countless holidays together, including multiple Christmases at the River. With the addition of Marco to her family, Linda quickly became an expert on the game of baseball. Her natural, endless support shined as she came to truly appreciate and love the game, especially with the trade that brought Marco & Monica to Seattle. Never to miss a home start when Marco was pitching, she loved nothing more than to be at the games to cheer him on. In 2015, Linda began to notice balance issues. As her family searched for the root cause, their road eventually led to the confirmation of devastating news. She was diagnosed in 2016 with Multiple Systems Atrophy (MSA), a very rare neurodegenerative and autonomic disease. Being the fighter and giver that she is, both her & Don spent time at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN to contribute to research in hopes of beating MSA. In 2017, she was selected to be one of 30 individuals in the world to partake in a clinical stem-cell trial to help find a cure. Linda fought MSA with the utmost courage, grace, and unconditional love. She will forever inspire us all with the strength she showed every day, and her unrelenting faith. With Linda's passing, her family celebrates that she is free of MSA and walking & dancing in Heaven, while watching over her entire family. We will never forget her smile that could light up a room, and the endless love that she always showed each of us. We will forever honor the incredible wife, mother, daughter, sister & friend she is. Linda will always be with us. ~ In lieu of flowers or gifts, please consider donating to Defeat MSA Alliance in Linda's name. In her honor, we will continue the fight against MSA. ~ An obituary for Linda in pending. Please share a thought, memory, prayer or photo on the family's tribute wall.

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Events

Event information can be found on the Official Obituary of Linda Anne Zender.