Linda Broome Sundstrom

Linda Broome Sundstrom, 79, passed away on December 5, 2021, after a brief illness with family and friends at her side.  She was born in Augusta, Georgia, on March 13, 1942, to Marian Jenkins Broome and Harold Bruce Broome.  Family moves took her to Albertville, Alabama, West Columbia, South Carolina, and Augusta.

 Her parents and sisters, Judith Broome Stewart and Sandra Broome Hoffman, Chattanooga, Tennessee, predeceased her.  Linda is survived by her loving husband of fifty-five years, Dr. John C. Sundstrom of Gainesville, her daughter, Stacey Lynne Sundstrom, of Cumming, Georgia, her son, Dr. Bradley Walker (Angela) Sundstrom of Chattanooga, Tennessee, nieces Candice Sundstrom of Buena Park, California,  Kemper(Andrew) Orton, of Boynton Beach,  Heather (Cherish) Stewart, of Chattanooga, nephews Cameron (Ivonne) Stewart, of Signal Mountain, Tennessee, Jordan (Andrew) Hoffman of Chattanooga, grandchildren, Avery Vivian Chadwell, and Katherine Quinn Chadwell, both of Cumming, Alden Brooke Sundstrom, Skylar Paige Sundstrom, and Charlotte Blake Sundstrom, of Chattanooga, and numerous cousins, great-nieces, and grand-nephews.

She was a graduate of Richmond Academy and Augusta College, where she received the Freshman Leadership Award for her work on the Student Council.   At the University of Georgia, she received a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics.  She taught mathematics in Augusta, and Athens, GA.

It was at the university where she met her future husband.   She married John C. Sundstrom on July 23, 1966, at Woodlawn Baptist Church in Augusta.

She spent the first two years of marriage in Athens, the first as the breadwinner while her husband completed his education, followed by John working in an Athens veterinary practice.  They welcomed daughter Stacey Lynne into the world on February 2, 1968.  

The new family moved to Gainesville, Georgia, for a six-month stay while the practice owner was hospitalized, then to Clarkston, Georgia.  While there, their son, Bradley Walker, was born in Decatur, Georgia.  The date was their 3rd wedding anniversary, July 23, 1969.

After a year, the couple decided they didn't want to raise their family in the metro area but liked the size and pace of Gainesville.  They did not hesitate when the opportunity arose to buy the practice there at the end of 1969.  Linda did a lot of the practice's management, introducing better business methods to help develop and transform the pattern from a small, mixed animal practice into a thriving small animal practice.   She continued these efforts until her retirement.

She was an active member of the Gainesville Newcomers Club, the Dogwood Garden Club, the Up Your Assets Investing Club, the Phoenix Society.  She served many posts, including the presidency for that organization.  She volunteered and served on the Girls' Club Board of Directors, serving several positions, including the presidency.  She also served on the Boards of Directors for the United Way, the Guest House, and The Quinlan Visual Arts Center. She led an Explorer Scout Unit based around veterinary medicine with her husband.

She was an excellent organizer.  She needed those skills when her son became eligible for T-ball, and she had missed the sign-up deadline. With a baseball-crazy husband, she petitioned Park and Rec officials, who told her that her son could play if she could form a new team and find a coach.  She worked the phones securing a team and avoided becoming the coach at the last minute when a volunteer stepped forward.

She enjoyed many years of tennis at the Chattahoochee Country Club, skiing, and traveling to various venues to participate in those activities.   Calligraphy was her art, and she volunteered to address wedding invitations for several brides of friends and family. Her work was sublime.

She had a kitchen garden in which she grew herbs and many flowers.  Even in later years, when she could not get around well, if others did not correctly attend her garden, she would attack weeds with a vengeance.  Linda was a self-taught gourmet cook.  She could tell how something would taste by reading the recipe.  Dinner parties were a top priority as she combined her love for cooking and entertaining.  Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners for twenty-plus were typical.

She was an avid reader and solver of logic puzzles her entire life.  People found her a compassionate sounding board and a trusted, confidential listener.

She enjoyed genealogy research and visited the Family History Library of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City, Utah, annually in her quest to trace her ancestry.  Searching for ancestors' graves in Georgia and South Carolina cemeteries was normal for her.  Once, she found the family markers at Dawson's Landing, on the Coosawhatchee River, the most inland port of that river with access to the ocean.  Her family had freight ships essential to the area to get products to and from markets.  Their eight thousand acres were devoted to growing the most expensive rice in the world.  She was a proud member of the Daughters of the Revolution (DAR) and, proud of her Southern heritage, the Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC).

She loved to see the world and its fantastic offerings. She traveled as far as  Australia and New Zealand to visit forty-four foreign countries.   Linda visited forty-eight of our fifty 50 States, and she had those remaining two in her sights but was always happy to put her feet up at home or her lakeside cabin with family and friends. 

Her family had always been her primary focus.  Visiting her many relatives in their homes or family reunions was always happy for Linda.  She arranged her work and play schedules to be at home when the children got off the school bus.  As the children snacked, they told her about their days.  Supper was almost always a family affair around the kitchen table.  Guiding her children to become great adults and enjoying watching her five granddaughters grow into extraordinary young ladies has been a great source of joy to her. 

Special thanks to the Critical Care Unit teams in the Ronnie Green Heart Center of Northeast Georgia Medical Center.

Her husband and family miss her terribly. 

Following cremation, visitation will be from 1-3 PM, followed by a celebration of Linda's life at 3 PM, on December 18, 2021, at the Little-Davenport Chapel.  Flowers will be accepted, or if one wishes, donations can be made to the Boys and Girls Club of Lanier, PO Box 691, Gainesville, GA 30503-9868, the American Cancer Society, or a charity of your choice.

Those wishing to send online condolences to the family may do so at littledavenport.com

Little & Davenport Funeral Home & Crematory, 355 Dawsonville Highway, SW, Gainesville, Georgia 30501 is in charge of arrangements.