Linda J. Sanders

Glenburn

Linda Jean (Polen) Sanders, 62, Glenburn, passed away on Thursday, March 7, 2024, at Trinity hospital, Minot, ND, surrounded by her family and friends after a long, courageous battle with cancer.

Linda Jean Polen was born on April 10, 1961 in Wiesbaden, Germany, a daughter of Jack and Rhoda (Snyder) Polen. She was the 4th child in a family of 7 children. Throughout her years, due to Jack’s military service, Linda has lived in Germany, New Mexico, South Dakota, and then they finally settled down in North Dakota.

Linda attended Minot High School in Minot, ND, where she graduated in 1979. In 1980, Linda chose to follow in her father’s footsteps and joined the United States Air Force. While enlisted, Linda chose to work in law enforcement and received several commendation awards. However, one of her proudest achievements was when she welcomed her daughter, Danielle Marie, into the world in January of 1982.

Linda’s love for horses led her to a chance encounter in 1984 at Sweetwater Stables where she met the love of her life, Cliff Sanders Sr. Cliff and Linda were married on August 30, 1985 where they began to build their future and their legacy. With this union, Linda welcomed 4 sons; John, William, Marvin, and Cliff Jr. into her life. In December of 1986, they welcomed their youngest, James Nicholas, into the world, and now their family was complete.

In 1988, Linda received an honorable discharge from the military and began her foray into the civilian world by taking on work as a private investigator. After a year of PI work, she then worked in several different career fields including the base commissary, ND highway department, and alongside Cliff at Northern Livestock Auction. In 2004, she took a job as a postal carrier with the United States Postal Service, where she continued to work until her early retirement in 2022.

Her time in the military created a soft spot in her heart for military working dogs. While employed with the post office, she was given a route on the Minot AFB. During this time, and after, she took every chance she got to visit the kennels of the police dogs. She would bring them treats and got to know their handlers, who all began to lovingly call her their “kennel mom.” She went to many training sessions, retirement ceremonies, and other activities that involved the dogs. She loved and cared for them so much so, that when a working dog named Arno was retiring and didn’t have a home to go to, she filed papers to adopt and bring him home with no hesitation. Arno lived out his final days happily on the farm.

Cliff and Linda were blessed with numerous grandkids and great grandkids through the years. Linda was always their number one fan and could always be heard cheering on the sidelines at sporting events, sitting in the stands at concerts, and beamed with pride when awards were won. If/when she was unable to attend events, she could almost always be found with her phone or iPad (sometimes BOTH) tuned into whatever streaming service their events may be on. Her grands and greats were her biggest pride and joy.

Along the way, Cliff and Linda raised many different types of livestock on the farm, from Black Angus cows, to horses, chickens, pigs, and sheep. In 2013, however, they decided to begin raising Texas Longhorn cattle and began VT Longhorns. After Cliff’s passing in 2023, Linda continued to keep their dream alive with the help of her sons and continued to raise longhorns until her passing.

Linda also had a love of gardening and then canning the fruits of her labor. Anyone who came by to visit was sure to leave with a jar of vegetables, jam, fruit, etc. If it could be preserved and canned, she probably had it!

At the time of Linda’s passing, she had been battling cancer off and on for nearly 30 years, kicking it’s ass every step of the way. No matter where she was in her journey, you almost never knew she was fighting the fight. She fought it with determination, positivity, and humility. Linda did not allow cancer to define her or her life. She lived her life with love and purpose. On even her very last day Earth-side, her mind was still fighting, however her body was tired. There is now a small comfort in knowing that she is no longer in pain or suffering and her body is healed.

Her loving family includes:

Children; John (Sandy) Sutcliffe, Stanchfield, MN, William H. Sanders, Minot, ND, Marvin (Toni) Sanders, Glenburn, ND, Clifford R. (Ladina) Sanders Jr., Clifford, ND, Danielle M. (Mike) Peppard, Lansford, ND, James N. Sanders, Minot, ND; grandchildren, Brian (LeAnne) Sutcliffe, Josh Sutcliffe, Andy Sutcliffe, William Sanders Jr., Tyler Apman, Hailey Becker, Jayden Christensen, Wyatt Sanders, Zach Adams, Erick Adams, Cianah (Carter) Sanders, Cristyen Peppard, Jonathon Peppard, Mikaela Peppard, JoseLynne Griffin; several great-grandchildren; Brothers and Sisters, Jack (Mera) Polen, New Mexico; Darlene Gross, Chico, CA; Debra (Rudy) Rudolph, Conde, SD; Julie (Knute) Ostlund, Berthold, ND; Tom (Brook) Polen, AZ; Kim (Brent) Johnson, Minot, ND; brother-in-law, Lyle (JoAnn) Sanders, Glenburn, ND; chosen sister Char Walter, Minot, ND, and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.

Linda was preceded in death by husband, Cliff Sanders; parents, Jack and Rhoda Polen; father and mother-in-law Harold and Laura Sanders, and chosen brother-in law Marvy Mariner.

Visitation: Thursday, March 14, 2024 from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. at Thompson-Larson Funeral Home, Minot

Funeral: Friday, March 15, 2024, 1:00 p.m. at Cornerstone Presbyterian Church, Minot, The service will be livestreamed and may be accessed at the link provide don Linda’s webpage at www.thompsonlarson.com

Burial at 3 p.m. at Sunset Memorial Gardens.

Published by The Minot Daily News, March 12, 2024.