Obituary of Linnea K. Sundgaard

Linnea K. Sundgaard (Svendsen)

Linnea was born to Marion and Elmer Svendsen on September 10, 1959 in St. Paul, Minnesota. She spent most of her active life in the Twin Cities area among family and friends. Linnea spent the last two years in Cushing, Wisconsin, moving there in September 2015 to enjoy life on the lake, primarily spoiling her grandkids, Owen (5 1/2), Henry (4) and Thorbjorn (7 months) and spending quality time with her best friend, Kip.

In 1978, Linnea married Kip Sundgaard. To this day, Linnea said her greatest memory was meeting Kip. She enjoyed raising her three children, Sven, Sonja and Sverre, while living on the hobby farm in Cottage Grove. Linnea enjoyed cooking, reading, fishing, needlework and life on the lake. Over the years, Linnea took pride in her secretarial and interpersonal skills, which included her spending several years at the State of Minnesota and 3M before staying home as a full-time mother (aka “Kool-Aid” mom) for her three children. After the kids were all in school, Linnea spent most of her career working as the Recreation Secretary at the City of Cottage Grove, where she eventually retired in 2007, which was earlier than expected due to health reasons. However, with early retirement, Linnea was truly able to enjoy life and spend much more quality time with her friends, family and pets, which many of us take for granted.

Linnea had the unique gift of storytelling and engaging everyone around her with her infectious smile. She continued using these gifts with everyone around her until her very last day. Linnea loved and cherished all three of her beautiful grandsons and really hoped to see them grow a little older and continue to enjoy the life on the lake. In addition to being surrounded by her loving family, Linnea had a huge heart for all animals, including her most recent pets: Poopsie, Tux, and Stanley.  

Linnea also knew pain and torture as she suffered from severe OCD most of her adult life, which eventually led to her self-medicating with alcohol. One of Linnea’s greatest passions in life was to help educate and share her experience with OCD and alcoholism with others in order to help break down the walls of judgment, stigmas and hopefully pave the way for more effective treatment and intervention for people suffering from mental health illnesses, including addiction. Linnea is truly the definition of resiliency.

Linnea was preceded in death by her father, Elmer Svendsen, and her mother, Marion Svendsen. She is survived by her best friend and loving husband, Kip Sundgaard; brother, Dennis Svendsen and wife, Marie (Heather, Melissa, Kelsey and Bill); sister, Joanne Svendsen; son, Sven Sundgaard and boyfriend, Robert; daughter, Sonja Kania and husband, Patrick (Owen and Henry); and son, Sverre Sundgaard and wife, Ania (Thorbjorn).  

Go forth in Peace, Porkie.  We will always remember you.  

Memorial Service 4:30 P.M. on Wednesday, September 13th, 2017 at Anderson Funeral Home, 1401 Arcade Street (Hwy 61), Saint Paul, Minnesota. Visitation to follow from 5:30 - 7:30 P.M.