Muriel LaVerne Linder's Obituary
Muriel Linder, our valiant Viking warrior, has fought her last battle. Muriel was born to the late Joseph and Clara Dado in Minneapolis, MN, on August 5, 1932. She left us for her next adventure on August 25, 2017, one week shy of her 66th wedding anniversary with her husband Rudy, living in Rio Linda for the entirety of their marriage. At the age of five, she moved with her parents to San Francisco and later Daly City before coming to Sacramento during her high school junior year. She graduated from C.K. McClatchy High School in Sacramento in 1950.
Although Muriel was raised an only child (an older brother passed away before she was born,) she enjoyed coming from a very large family of aunts, uncles and cousins. Many of these relatives lived in Minnesota and Wisconsin, so she was well-traveled as a child and teen when her parents would visit their siblings and their families. When she married Rudy, she immediately gained four brothers and a sister, and eventually, their spouses as sisters and brother, making for her a very large family, indeed.
She worked for both the State of California Department of Public Works as well as the Corps of Engineers before taking time out to raise three children. She continued employment with Calvary Lutheran Church in Rio Linda as the Church Secretary, a position she held for several years. In 1970, she was hired as the first Department Secretary for the newly formed Department of Computer Science, a position she held until she retired in 1994.
Even after leaving her employment at Calvary, she remained very active in the congregation, singing in the choir, leadership in the women’s group and positions on the church council. She attended several conferences and assemblies on behalf of the congregation, and served on the cabinet for the Sacramento Conference of Lutheran Churches. She later became a member of Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd and Lutheran Church of the Ascension.
She had an avid interest in sewing and knitting and other crafts, including a recent interest in adult coloring books. She loved hummingbirds. She was well traveled and continued touring much of the United States and Canada, with three children in tow, and visited her grandparents’ homeland of Norway as well as Sweden. She was a caring and loving wife, mother, mother-in-law and grandmother who enjoyed every minute with her family.
Surviving her are Rudy, sons Roger Linder (Cece) and Michael Scully-Linder (Peggy) and daughter Tracy Bowen (Jeff). In addition, she cherished her eight grandchildren: Matthew Linder (Sara), Megan Denison (Brett), Bradley Linder, Jarred Bowen (Sara Beth Brooks), Kathryn Linder (Ben Winter), Travis Bowen, Sarah Mummert (Daniel) and Krista Davis (Eric) and four great-grandchildren: Catelyn Denison, Jack Denison, Diana Linder and Hunter Davis.
What’s your fondest memory of Muriel?
What’s a lesson you learned from Muriel?
Share a story where Muriel's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Muriel you’ll never forget.
How did Muriel make you smile?

