JOHN S. LINDEN

John Steven Linden, age 32, of Irvine, CA, formerly of Sugar Grove, IL, passed away unexpectedly on March 24, 2023.

He was born June 9, 1990, in Aurora, IL, to proud and loving parents, Steve and Sarah Linden.

John grew up in Sugar Grove. He attended Sunday School & AWANA at Village Bible Church and Adventure Club & Club 56 at First Baptist Church. He played backyard sports with his dad, brother, and neighborhood friends along with baseball on teams as well as middle school football. Before receiving his diploma, John spent time on the links with his fellow golf team members in search of the elusive hole-in-one. He also got his hands dirty while studying automotive technologies at the Fox Valley Career Center and made a name for himself in the kitchen or at the grill while studying culinary arts. He graduated from Kaneland High School with the class of 2008.

John continued his education at Waubonsee Community College, DeVry University and Codeacademy. He had certifications in HTML, CSS and JavaScript with relevant coursework in GitHub, Git, SEO and Command Line.

John had an interest and a talent for so many things that it was hard to pinpoint just one thing that he loved. Even when he was young, John would mow lawns, walk dogs, babysit, install mulch, build landscaping designs and attempted a waterfall and small pond with Grandpa Pepple. Tinkering and figuring out how things work was what he did with cars and electricity alongside Grandpa Linden. He loved to get elbow deep in grease while working on his own car, and the cars of his family and friends. Later he would delve into internet security, web design, and even began developing his own crypto currency program. John was always looking for the next thing, a true entrepreneur at heart, and in 2018, that meant moving to California and making his home in Long Beach to pursue his next adventure. He used his computer skills and combined them with his knack for installation to design and program security systems. John built a custom server overnight to provide uninterrupted business for a doctor’s office by morning. He was able to recover all patient records and x-rays within a secured network preventing improper access to vital information! John was self-taught and continually studying to increase his knowledge and advanced levels of certification in the area of computer programming and web design.

He was a friend to many in every walk of life. There was nothing that didn’t escape John’s notice or pique his interest and he was always making connections from Illinois to California and beyond. He had a strong foundation of love for his family that extended over the miles that separated them. Now his love cascades from the halls of Heaven and lives on not only in the memories of those he loved, but also abides in their hearts forever.

He leaves his loving family including his parents, Steve and Sarah Linden; one brother Mark Linden; his paternal grandparents, David and Lynette Linden; his maternal grandparents, Leslie and Sharon Pepple; one aunt, Amy Pepple Lobos and a community of friends from all walks of life.

He now joins his loving Uncle Roger Linden, who preceded him in death and his great grandparents whom he loved: Gilbert & Reta Pepple, Edith Linden and Bertha Hall.

A funeral service to celebrate his faith and life will be held at Conley Funeral Home, 116 W. Pierce St., Elburn, IL, on Sunday, April 16, 2023, at 2 p.m.  A time of visitation will follow the service until 4 p.m.

The family requests that no flowers be sent, but instead consider contributing to the memorial that has been established in John’s name. Checks may be made to the “John S. Linden Memorial” and mailed in care of P.O. Box 66, Elburn, 60119. Tributes may also be forwarded to the same address, the Conley Funeral Home Facebook Page, or at www.conleycare.com.