Linda Marie Kaufman

Services for Linda Marie Kaufman (nee Wendt), 72, of Island Lake, formerly of Lake Zurich and Franklin Park will be private.

She was born on April 18, 1950 in Libertyville and passed away, peacefully with family by her side, July 18, 2022.

Linda loved spending time with family. She always found a reason for a gathering at her home whether it was a holiday, a birthday, a sunny day, or just a Monday. She took pride in entertaining family, cooking the most wonderful meals. Linda’s heart was huge. She moved in with her parents to help care for her mother, Helen when sick, then stayed to care of her father, Jack. Linda stayed in the house after his passing and continued to spread love by taking care of many family members, giving them a room in the house, over the years. Linda was a dedicated mother and grandmother. She spent many years cheering for her daughters at their softball games, supported them in life with many phone calls and long talks, would drop everything to be there at every birth of a grandchild, and just about anything they needed she was there, always. Her grandkids had many ceremonies, games, concerts, and theater productions over the years. She was always there to see them shine. Linda’s oldest grandson, Michael, is in the Navy. She was so proud of him for choosing that path. Linda’s love and dedication for her family was abundant.

Cooking was her second love in life. Many hours of her days were spent researching recipes online, in cookbooks, or by watching cooking shows. She was an ambitious chef, always trying new recipes and tweaking them to perfection. Her food was full of love, butter, and salt. This is what made it so good. Linda loved to eat out but was a huge critic due to her own cooking being superior. If she found a restaurant she loved, she would tell everyone, then try to replicate the food she ate. Even in her last months she always had a cooking show on the tv, talked about food and recipes daily, and shared her food secrets with her daughters. Other interests of Linda’s were gardening, reading, the Cubs, WGN radio, crocheting, and camping. She loved all flowers, but her favorite was New Guinea Impatiens. This love was carried on from her father who was the master gardener. Linda loved reading mysteries, Janet Evanovich being her favorite. She was a lifelong Cubs fan, loved going to games, listened to games on the radio, preferably over watching them on TV. In the 80’s she loved to crochet and made blankets for all of her daughters using their favorite colors. In the 90’s she loved to go camping and became rather adventurous going sky diving, cliff jumping, and white-water rafting. Linda lived a full life, enriched with lots of experiences.

Linda was the loving mother of Lisa (Mark) Morelli Johnson, Tammy Ganan, Julie Leineberg, and the late Gina Christensen; former spouse of James Kaufman; grandmother of Michael, Samantha, Ashley, Georgia, Jordan, Seager, John, and Thomas; sister of Jack (Sharon) Wendt and Rick (Leslie) Wendt; best friend to Jody Sanders: daughter of the late Jack E. Wendt and Helen M. Wendt.