MARSHFIELD – Linda Sue (Cunningham) Duke of Marshfield, passed away peacefully on September 14. Linda was born on October 11, 1949, to Howard and Winifred Cunningham of Scotia, N.Y. Linda was an only child. After graduating from high school, she became a nurse and joined the Army in 1966. She served at both Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. She married Dwight C. Duke on September 26, 1968 and became a housewife. Linda gave birth to their oldest son, Howard, after which she went back into nursing at Albany Medical Center.
They moved numerous times because of her husband’s work and re-entry into the Army and ended up in Germany, where they lived for two years. After her husband was badly injured, Linda and their son moved to Maryland while her husband recovered at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Linda’s husband retired from the Army in 1979 and they moved to Marshfield. Linda worked as a nurse at what is now CVMC and Head Start.
In 1986 they became foster parents to a child and five years later they adopted their second son, Richard. They owned a farm for several years where they raised many animals and had “cowboy shoots”. Due to health issues, they moved to a one-story home on Pleasant Avenue. Linda spent the last three years of her life at Berlin Health and Rehabilitation Center.
Linda is survived by her husband, Dwight, of 53 years, as well as her two sons Howard and Richard.
A graveside service will be held on Saturday, September 25, at 10 a.m., at Durant Cemetery in Lower Cabot. The des Groseilliers Funeral Home is in care of arrangements.
