Linda Rose (Farhart) Varberg

Beloved and admired wife, mother, sister, daughter, aunt, and friend Linda Rose (Farhart) Varberg showed grace, courage, and determination in her three-year battle with breast cancer, which ended on March 8, 2015. She was born on May 9, 1960 in Stanley, North Dakota. She married John Bruce Varberg on June 6, 1981 in Ross, North Dakota. A graduate of Stanley High School, she attended the University of North Dakota and earned a B.S. in Business Administration in 1982. At the University of Kansas, she went on to earn an M.B.A. in Human Resources in 1986 and completed a year of coursework toward a Master’s in Social Welfare in 1989. She served as Assistant Director for Administration at the Applied English Center at KU until 1996. She completed her coursework and was certified in Therapeutic Massage at Johnson County Community College in 2001 and for several years had a massage therapy practice in Lawrence. Linda worked with the Education Outreach Program at the Community Mercantile until she was diagnosed with breast cancer in June 2011. She was a volunteer massage therapist with the Parkinson’s Disease Support Group and Douglas County VNA & Hospice Care.

She is survived by her husband John of Lawrence; sons Joe (Kaela) of Indianapolis, Indiana and Byron of Kansas City, Missouri; father Joe Farhart of Minot, North Dakota; sisters Nancy Farhart of Minot, North Dakota, and Cathy (Greg) Landon of Ryder, North Dakota; and numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her mother June Elizabeth (Nielsen) Farhart; her brother Steven Carl; and her infant niece.

The family wishes to thank Drs. Sharon Soule and Darren Klish and the staff at Lawrence Memorial Hospital Oncology for their care and devotion. They also wish to thank the staff of Douglas County VNA & Hospice Care for their compassion and assistance in providing Linda with a peaceful death in her own home.

A Celebration of Life gathering will be held to honor Linda in lieu of a reception after the funeral on Friday, March 13, 2015, 7:00-10:00 pm at the Cider Gallery, 810 Pennsylvania Street, in Lawrence, KS. The funeral for Linda will be on Saturday, March 14, 2015 at 10:30 am at the First Presbyterian Church, 2415 Clinton Parkway, Lawrence. Contributions in Linda’s memory may be made to Douglas County VNA & Hospice Care, 200 Maine Street, Suite C, Lawrence, KS 66044. Condolences may be left at http://warrenmcelwain.cwgen.com/ .

Arrangements: Warren-McElwain Mortuary 785-843-1120.