Linda E. Sanville

Linda E. Sanville, age 67, of Cornell passed away Saturday, August 20, 2022 surrounded by family following a 5-month battle with cancer. Linda was born in Escanaba on May 4, 1955. She was the daughter of William and Eileen (Peippo) Jaeger. Linda was raised in Watson and attended the Wells Township School and graduated Gwinn High School in 1973. She married Douglas (Mike) Sanville at the Felch Bible Chapel on October 12, 1973 and together shared 48 years of marriage and raised 2 children, Doug and Michael. Linda’s parents were the owners of the Watson IGA where she worked behind the counter during her formative years. While raising her sons, Linda worked summers as a lifeguard at the Wells Township pool, where she shared her love of children and helping others. At the same time, she visited the homes of Watson, Northland, and Cornell selling Avon where she was able to bring her sons along and socialize with the families in the area. After her boys were in school, Linda started a career at Pomp’s Tire where she enjoyed helping people. Linda also managed the Power House and later returned to Pomp’s Tire. She was the bookkeeper for the family business, Sanville Logging, from 1980 until she became ill in 2022.

Linda’s greatest passion was her children and grandchildren. As she often stated, “my kids and grandkids are my life”. She took great pride in never missing a single event of her sons while they grew up. She was always available for the grandkids to pick them up from school or take them where they needed to be.  She loved attending sporting events for all of her grandchildren and could be found at baseball, cross country, football, gymnastics, ice skating, softball, volleyball and wrestling events throughout the year. Linda spent most of her spring and summer traveling to weekend baseball and softball tournaments and was always the teams’ biggest fan with a cooler full of Gatorade ready to share. She was a true team grandma!

Linda loved helping others and was someone anyone could call to take care of what was needed; from getting a tire fixed on a stranded car on Christmas Eve to volunteering in the concession stand at games. Linda always gave so much of herself to others. She always had time for you, and she had a special gift of making people feel welcome and connecting them with others. 

Linda was an avid Detroit Tigers fan and loved riding Harley Davidson motorcycles. Because Linda enjoyed knitting, she could be found knitting anytime she was sitting still. In true Linda fashion, she would give those blankets to others and would continue to make more. She also enjoyed cooking and made the best Sunday morning pancakes. Linda dedicated her time to helping and loving others and has touched many lives. She will be greatly missed.

Linda is survived by her husband, Mike Sanville of Cornell; children, Doug (Kelly) Sanville of Cornell, Mike (Missy) Sanville of Gladstone; grandchildren, Kennedy, Cooper, Connor, Kyle, Carter, Addy, and Ellie Sanville; sisters, Barb (Dan) Dorn of Traverse City, Jill Jaeger of Curtis; brother, William Jaeger of Webberville (Tammy); sisters-in-law, Bonnie Sanville of Gladstone and Jen Jaeger of Byron Center; along with many nieces and nephews.

In addition to her parents, Linda was preceded in death by her brother, Paul Jaeger; and many brothers-in law and sisters-in-law, Roy (Vi) Sanville, Bub (Lila) Sanville, Mill (Russ) Weist, Dick (Betty) Sanville, Puzz (Bert) Haring, Gordon (Toots) Sanville, Al (Shirley) Sanville, Ron (June) Sanville, and Butch Sanville.

Visitation will be held from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., Thursday, August 25, 2022 at the Anderson Funeral Home in Escanaba. Funeral services celebrating the life of Linda will follow at 4:00 p.m., Thursday, with Mr. Bill Hill officiating. A luncheon will be served at the conclusion of the services at Grace Church in Gladstone. Burial will take place in Forest Home Cemetery in Watson. In lieu of flowers, any memorial donations will be given to local youth sports programs in Linda’s name. 

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