Linda "Lois" Newhall Connell

May 16, 1925 – April 11, 2016

Lois “Linda” Connell, also affectionately known as “Aunt Bunk”, left us for Heaven on Monday, April 11th, 2016, at 90 years young. She was full of life until her recent illness.

Linda was born on May 16th, 1925 in Phoenix, Arizona to Franklin Day and Esther (Carney) Newhall. She grew up in Phoenix and attended college in Oregon where she earned a degree in Landscape Architecture, just one of several degrees earned over her lifetime. Linda put herself through college. One of her notable jobs during that time was manning the guard station/watch tower used for spotting forest fires in the Crater Lake National Park. While working on a tulip farm, she met and fell in love with James Connell, who became her husband and the father of their three spirited children. Linda and Jim made their home in Phoenix in the early 1950s, and that is where Linda lived for the remainder of her life. She married her current husband, Conrad Neidhardt, on December 4, 1984.

Linda enjoyed a long career as a teacher in the Creighton public school district. Even after retiring, you could not slow her down. In addition to her home in Phoenix, she also enjoyed calling Globe and Young home. Linda has always been active in several communities and was passionate about sharing the visions of many charitable organizations with her generous contributions of donation and service. She would often speak of her church and the church family, her joy of singing in the choir and her love for the arts. Some of her favorite organizations in the valley include the Heard Museum, the Phoenix Symphony, Ballet Arizona, the Herberger Theater, and the Desert Botanical Gardens - many more rounded out her eclectic mix of art-beauty centered experiences.

One of Linda’s most memorable achievements was being a selected educator included in the first group of Americans allowed into China in 1976, after the borders opened back up to foreigners. Linda also journeyed through several other countries in her life, including Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Holland, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, and Singapore—maybe more! She was a proud ballerina, and got a thrill from sharing the stories created from her many adventures. She played piano beautifully and sang with the voice of an angel. Linda represented love and kindness for all, and spent her days teaching those around her to appreciate the gift of life. She will be deeply missed and forever celebrated in the many lives she has touched.

Linda is survived by her husband Conrad, sisters Phyllis (and Frank) Saylor, Mary Jane Staymates and Margaret Schiller, her children, Ron and Gini Connell, Karen and Ray Carpenter and Jennifer and Ted Trockel, three grandchildren, two great-grandchildren and many nieces, nephews, relatives, and friends. She is preceded in death by her parents, her sister Norma Newhall and her brother Jim Newhall.

A service in celebration of Linda’s life will be held on Wednesday, April 20th at 10:30 a.m. at the Resthaven/Carr-Tenney Mortuary & Memorial Gardens, 4310 E. Southern Avenue, Phoenix, Arizona.

Donations in Linda’s memory can be made to Freewheelchairmission.org or Wildspiritwolfsanctuary.org