Linda Louise Zander

Linda Louise (Vevag) Zander of Lynden passed away on Jan. 7, 2026, at the Hospice House in Bellingham. She was born on Nov. 5, 1940, in Bellingham, to Carl and Glennis (Falk) Vevag, the eldest of their five children.

After graduating from Meridian High School in 1958, she attended Western Washington University and College of Business and Economics while working for a dentist. She later graduated from Whatcom Community College.

Linda married Raymond Harrison Zander on March 14, 1959, in Whatcom County. They first operated a dairy farm in Deming and later in the Sumas and Lynden areas.

Altogether, Ray and Linda raised seven children—Robert, Tami, Chris, Donald, Cody, Shane Hathaway, and Michele (Zander) Mironchuk.

Linda and Ray belonged to the Washington Farm Bureau, Whatcom County Farm Bureau, Goshen Grange, Northwest Dairymen’s Association, and Washington State Dairymen’s Federation. Linda served as president and legislative chairperson of the Whatcom County Farm Bureau, and in early 1980, she and Ray joined 30 other U.S. farmers and equipment dealers on a trip to Bulgaria. Linda and Ray attended Goshen Community Church.

She and Ray were lifelong Republicans. In 1978, Linda served as a freeholder helping to write a home rule charter for Whatcom County. She ran unsuccessfully in 1978 and 1980 for 40th state legislative district representative, sought a Whatcom County Council seat in 1983, and then won a position on the Whatcom County Charter Review Commission in 1985.

Linda was preceded in death in 2020 by Ray, her husband of 61 years; her son Cody in 2019; and her sister Beverly Leonard in 2024.

She is survived by five children, Robert (Kristy) Zander of Everson, Tami Zander of Bellingham, Chris Zander of Sumas, Donald Zander, and Michele Mironchuk of Blaine; sisters Dolores C. Olwell and Dorothy V. Leslie, both of Snohomish; brother Edward C. Vevag of Bellingham; five grandchildren; and a half dozen great-grandchildren.

A graveside service will be held on Friday, February 6th at 1 PM at the Lakeside Cemetery (2402 Pangborn Rd, Lynden), where she will be buried next to her husband. A reception will follow at Laurel Grange (6172 Guide Meridian, Lynden).