Mrs. Linda Darlene Etienne (nee Thompson), age 75, passed away quietly in the early morning of June 13th, 2024, at Thunder Bay Regional Hospital.
Born June 29th, 1948, in Port Arthur, Ontario, she is the only child of Gladys (Westlake) and Frederick Thompson. Linda grew up and lived in Port Arthur her whole life. She attended Oliver Road School and Hammarskjold High School. Always an artist with a love of colour and design, Linda attended Sheridan College of Applied Arts and Technology in Brampton, Ontario. She was in the first graduating class of the college. Linda returned to Thunder Bay and graduated from the Faculty of Education. She taught all elementary grades for the Lakehead District School Board. She loved grade 2 the most and was able to teach that only for a few years over her 30-year career. She was an enthusiastic and creative teacher. She loved teaching and continued to do so after retiring. She especially loved supply teaching for her daughter. She earned a degree in Visual Arts from Lakehead University in 1991 while teaching full time and raising her two children, Kerrie (Derek Johnson) and Kyle Etienne. They were the most important part of her life, along with her devoted husband. She married Mr. Edward (Ted) Etienne in 1970. They enjoyed 54 years of marriage. They loved their summers at Trout Lake and, after retirement, their winters in Florida and Arizona. They enjoyed doing most things together, from playing cards to board games to dancing to hosting friends and family.
Linda will be greatly missed by her family and many friends. She was a strong but sensitive woman with determination, and she fought her way through many health challenges. In addition to her husband and children, she is preceded by her granddaughters Quinn and Claire Etienne of Mount Albert, ON, and close cousins.
Linda was a very vibrant, thoughtful, loving, and hard-working person. She was a special lady who made others feel special and truly loved. She possessed the gift to talk to anyone - and talk she did! -always making you laugh or smile. Linda loved to decorate her home and was an animal lover, especially her grand dog Jake.
As per Linda’s wishes, no service will be held. Interment will be held in Riverside Cemetery. If so desired, in lieu of flowers, donations to the Arthritis Society of Canada would be greatly appreciated.
