Obituary of Linda Anderson

Linda Anderson passed away from brain cancer on June 17, 2011 in the comfort of her Moorpark home. She was 57 years old. Linda was born on January 22, 1954 in San Jose, California to Carroll and Helen Jorgensen. She grew up in Solvang, California and graduated from Santa Ynez Valley Union High School in 1971. Afterwards, she received her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from California State University, Bakersfield. Linda got married on December 18, 1976 to Michael J Anderson. Soon after, they moved to Kuwait, where Linda taught elementary students for thirteen years. During this time, Michael and Linda had two children, Merry and Andrew. Linda left Kuwait with her family in 1990, coincidently the day before Kuwait was invaded by Iraqi troops. Unable to return to Kuwait, they moved to Moorpark. After she received a master's degree in education from Pepperdine University in 1995, she taught elementary school for Moorpark Unified School District for fifteen years. Her major achievements included receiving her National Board Certification, receiving a NASA Explorer School grant, and being elected the president of Moorpark Educators Association. In the meantime, for fun, she ran a total of 53 marathons in 27 states in a span of ten years, including the Camarillo Marathon eleven months after being diagnosed with cancer. She is survived by her husband, Michael Anderson; daughter, Merry Whittington; son, Andrew Anderson; mother, Helen Jorgensen; sisters, Cynthia Van Blaricome and Teresa Johnson; and brothers, John Jorgensen and William Jorgensen. She was preceded in death by Carroll Jorgensen. A public viewing will be held at Rose Family Funeral Home in Simi Valley on Friday, June 24 from 5 - 9 p.m. The memorial service will be on Saturday, June 25 at 11a.m. at the Christian Church of Thousand Oaks. In lieu of flowers, please donate in Linda's honor to National Brain Tumor Society (www.braintumor.org).