June 25, 2025

“If you felt like Linda loved you … she did; if you didn’t feel like she loved you, you’re wrong.”

That is the legacy of Linda Gubler Junge who passed away on June 25 after a long battle with cancer. 

She touched so many lives with positivity and joy. She loved her family, the students she served, her community and her God. 

Her family was at the center of everything she did – from supporting her children in every adventure and journey to being a true partner to her husband Jason. 

Jason met Linda at church in 1997. They were, and are, both members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. When Jason met Linda, he was at a crossroads. He knew that if he didn’t change his life’s path it would not lead to happiness. The first day, the first minute, when he walked into church Linda came up to him and introduced herself. Perhaps God had put her in his path to help guide him. 

It took six months to grow from being friends to dating – and their love grew. Jason, feeling a sense of duty to God, knew he needed to go on a mission. They talked about him leaving with the agreement that Linda would continue to date while he was gone. But what he didn’t know then was the strength of Linda’s patience and grace. 

He went off to Norway for two years and when he got back he went straight to her; within seven months they were married. That temporary separation filled them both with happiness and love that bloomed upon their reunion. Together they created a family but their community family stretched far beyond their home. 

Linda was dedicated to students. She had been a teacher and a principal. She was a graduate of Hoover High School and she worked for the Glendale Unified School District in a variety of positions; however, it was her job as principal of Crescenta Valley High School that introduced her to the CV community. Putting her into that position at CVHS was a strategic move by then-Superintendent Michael Escalante. The students and staff had faced a tremendous tragedy when a student died by suicide on campus in a very public way. The entire community was in mourning and though there was a shadow that fell on the campus that encompassed many Linda was perfectly suited for her leadership role. Her brother had died by suicide years before and she knew what these students and her staff were feeling. She knew that this loss was not something to ignore and she wanted to create a safe space for everyone to share their feelings. Although the memory never left, it did fade. 

Linda faced some tough times while at CVHS but she never let the negative outweigh the positive, and she always had her students’ backs making them feel safe and heard.

Linda moved from CVHS to be an assistant superintendent of Human Resources in the South Pasadena Unified School District, which was near her home and was a district that held a very special place in her heart. She then got her dream job at Burbank Unified School District as assistant superintendent of Educational Instruction. She was so excited about this new position and her future; however, she soon began to feel unexpected fatigue, which rapidly turned into complete exhaustion. She decided to go to the Emergency Room and received the news she had leukemia. 

She quickly went from diagnosis to treatment, which took a tremendous toll on her body. Her family watched as she fought so hard. Linda was fighting for her family, fighting to stay in their lives for as long as she could. It was at this time the community she had supported stepped up to support her. Word was shared that she needed platelets and blood … and her community responded. Linda needed hundreds of transfusions. When a nurse hung blood bags on the IV pole there would be a yellow tag indicating it was donated specifically for her. There were many yellow tags over the course of her treatment. She never knew who donated, but knew it was from the community that loved her. Seeing that yellow tag let her know that she was not in this battle alone. 

“You really don’t realize how many good people there are in this world until something like this happens,” said her husband Jason.

Support continued through the treatments and the transfusions as members of the community she helped create continued to show their support to her and her family, even beyond her passing. 

Being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Linda was well aware of the stigma that being a Christian – and especially a member of her church – could bring to situations. As part of her role as an administrator in education she did not judge; her job was to support all. There were times when she would go up against some in the Christian community who had differing opinions, asking them, “Which child should not be loved or supported?” She knew that loving and supporting a child should not be political but should come from the heart. She was an active member in her church becoming the head of the woman’s organization that reached across numerous congregations. 

It was her belief in God that gave her strength at the end of her cancer fight. She knew she would be with Him, that she would be reunited with her family and friends who had passed and that one day her family would reunite with her. And that strong belief is carried by her family as well as they work through life without her by their side. 

Her daughter Meghan is in college. Linda was able to go with her to help set up the dorm room. Her son Max is still in high school in South Pasadena. She supported him in sports and loved cheering from the sidelines. 

“She was such a good person,” Jason said. “She had such a big heart.”

The road family and friends are now on will not be easy but Linda’s strength and will endure and her laughter will be echoed throughout the school halls and home that she so loved. 

“Community is what life is all about. We are all about family we are all connected.” Linda Junge

She is survived by her husband, her daughter, her son and five siblings. She was preceded in death by her parents and her brother.

A celebration of Linda’s life will be held on Saturday, Aug. 2 at 10 a.m. at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 770 Sierra Madre Villa Ave. in Pasadena.