Cynthia Faye Buschagen

Born March 4, 1944 in St. Paul, Minnesota, “Cindy” was the second of two children to Ferne Elizabeth Carlson Linder (1921-2006) and Ellsworth Marshall Linder (1918-1990). Cynthia started her life without the presence of her beloved father, who left shortly after her birth to return to his service in the United States Navy in combat during World War II. Her father jokingly told Cindy that she was a “pin-up girl” on the USS San Francisco, as he proudly displayed pictures of his baby daughter for his fellow sailors while they fought in the Pacific Theater.

From an early age, and encouraged by her loving parents, Cindy declared that she wanted to become a teacher. As a teenager, Cindy and the Linder family went on a car trip to see family in California and they stopped for a night in Denver. When Cindy woke up to see the mountains, she declared right then and there that she wanted to be a teacher in Colorado.

Back in St. Paul, while Cindy progressed into High School, another pattern emerged, which was her lifelong involvement in multiple school, church and civic organizations. As a student at Wilson High School, Cindy was a teacher’s helper, the school newspaper editor, and a member of the Future Teachers Club. At the Zion Lutheran Church, Cindy was the President of the Luther League. Cindy also loved the outdoors, and was first a member of the Campfire Girls and then the President of the St. Paul Chapter of the Horizon Club.

Entering college in 1962 at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota, Cindy continued her focus on a career in education. During the summers, she was a Camp Counselor at Camp Widjiwagan in Ely, Minnesota, following in the footsteps of her older brother Darwyn. She enjoyed archery and canoeing the boundary waters in Minnesota and Canada. Later at Gustavus Adolphus, she would meet and fall in love with her future husband, John Henry Buschagen.

After graduation from college in 1966, Cindy went to join her father and mother who had moved to Denver, due to a job opportunity for Ellsworth with Frontier Airlines. Cindy returned to Gustavus Adolphus to marry John in June 1967 at the Christ Chapel. During this time period, John had volunteered for service in the United States Army and had recently been commissioned as a Second Lieutenant at the time of their marriage.

Following their marriage, Cindy followed John to Fort Sill, Oklahoma where she taught in a local school and he attended Artillery School for 10-months. When John learned that he would be deployed first to Panama for Jungle Warfare School and then to a Tour of Duty in Vietnam, Cindy again returned to Denver to resume her teaching career there. Once again, Cindy’s life was altered by military service, as she waited on word of the safety of her husband while being supported by her parents. John returned from his service in late 1969 and the couple settled in Denver.

Cindy fulfilled her dream as a teenager and taught for 18-years in the Denver Public Schools, teaching in the first or second grades at Valverde Elementary School. Always wanting to sharpen her skills throughout life, Cindy attained her Masters in Education from the University of Colorado Denver in 1980. While she loved her career, the stresses of teaching took their toll and eventually she resigned in 1985. During this time, Cindy was also heavily involved in her church, St. Paul’s Lutheran in Denver, where she and John sang in the choir and participated in multiple functions at the church. St. Paul’s was a fixture in family life with choir practice every Thursday night for both Cindy and John, and services every Sunday morning.

Following her career in education, Cindy gravitated to careers in administration at various churches and small businesses. She also was heavily involved at the schools of her children, Jeffrey John (born in 1972) and Paul Matthew (born in 1975), working on the School Improvement Council and Parent Teacher Association at Leawood Elementary School in Jefferson County, and later volunteering at Ken Caryl Junior High School.

In November of 2000, Cindy became an Associate in Ministry with the Rocky Mountain Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Simultaneously, she was called by Faith Lutheran Church in Castle Rock, Colorado, where she was the Director of Service Ministries, overseeing the volunteers in the church who worked with both the congregation and the community until 2008.

In 2013, John and Cindy made the decision to enter retirement and move to Washington State to be near their only granddaughter, Delylah Mae Buschagen, who was born just a year earlier. They settled in Sequim, Washington and attended church at the Peace Lutheran Fellowship in Port Ludlow, Washington. John died in 2014 after a short but brave battle with brain cancer. Cindy continued to volunteer at Peace after John’s death, becoming involved in various community outreach activities. In 2020, Cynthia moved to Port Orchard to be closer to Matthew and Delylah, enjoying her time with her granddaughter, gardening, attending to her dogs as well as the birds and wildlife around her home.

Cynthia was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, John, her brother Darwyn and her sister-in-law Marie. She is survived by her children, Jeffrey (and his wife Audra) of Scarborough, Maine and Matthew of Port Orchard, Washington, as well as her granddaughter, Delylah Mae.

A memorial service will be held at Peace Lutheran Fellowship in Port Ludlow, Washington at a later date in 2025. She will be interred in the Columbarium of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Denver, Colorado sometime in 2026. The family will share details of these services to friends and family when the plans are finalized.

In lieu of flowers or other memorials, the family would appreciate donations to World Central Kitchen (wck.org) in memory of Cynthia. To the end, Cynthia believed in service to others and the well-being of her fellow brothers and sisters on this planet that we share.