Linda Rae Prunés

Linda Rae Prunés was born in Fort Benning, GA on February 14, 1948, to Joe and Kathleen Underwood. She passed away on September 16, 2025, from a broken heart. Joe was a colonel in the army, so Linda spent her childhood moving all over the place with her sister Sharon and brother Bruce. They first moved to Frankfurt, Germany when Linda was a baby. Upon returning to the states, they bounced around from Tucson, AZ, to Atascadero, CA, Ft Leavenworth, Kansas, and Ft Monroe, Virginia. Linda attended Jr. High in Heidelberg, Germany and high school in Bamberg, Germany. While Linda was still in high school, they moved to New York, NY where she finished high school in the Bronx. After high school, Linda returned to Tucson and attended the University of Arizona, majoring in Russian Literature. She took a job clerking in the ICU at Tucson Medical Center after graduating. She made several lifelong friends in Tucson and had so much fun feeding groups of friends with her superb cooking and going on all kinds of adventures. While working in the hospital, she also met a young surgeon named Fernando Prunés, who would turn out to be the love of her life.

Fernando and Linda were married at her parents' house in Tucson in May 1976 and their adventure really began. They moved to Chihuahua, Chih, Mexico to be closer to Fernando's family where he worked as a general surgeon. Linda made the most of her time in Chihuahua learning Spanish and perfecting recipes she learned from her mother and sisters in law like her pollo con mole poblano, tinga de pollo, and her famous flan. After about 2 years in Chihuahua, Fernando took a job back in the U.S. at Copper Queen Community Hospital in Bisbee, Arizona where Linda opened a plant store called Bisbee Green bringing her passion for plants and flowers to life. In June 1979, Fernando was offered a plastic surgery residency at the prestigious Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. Linda was 6 months pregnant with their first child at the time, but they jumped at the opportunity without hesitation and moved yet again. Three months later they were blessed with their 1st child Alex. After finishing his plastic surgery residency at Mayo in 1981, they moved back to Tucson to be closer to Linda's family as they were expecting another child. Their daughter Ariadne was born in January 1982. About a year later, with their third child on the way, they moved to Bakersfield, CA where Fernando took a job as Chief of Surgery at KMC. Their baby boy Anthony was born in October 1983, completing their perfect family.

Linda was so talented and had so many passions, including traveling, cooking, music, and reading; but her greatest of all was being a mom. She supported her kids unconditionally in every way. She spent years volunteering in the library at Harding Elementary, participated in every PTA (at one point for 3 different schools at once), ran the yearbook committee, and basically put other room moms to shame. She could be found on the sidelines for every single soccer game, baseball game, timekeeping at the swim meets, keeping score at every golf tournament and of course front row for every dance recital, orchestra, band or choir performance. Her puff paint and bedazzling skills were unmatched, and she always made the best dance costumes. Delicious homemade treats were frequently waiting after school and her legendary cooking ensured that everyone was home in time for dinner, possibly picking up a few strays. She and Fernando both shared a love for travel and somehow still managed to spend almost their whole life together traveling the world and collecting beautiful memories and plenty of souvenirs along the way.

While Linda struggled with mobility issues in her later years, her sweet and kind demeanor never faded. She still thoroughly enjoyed a yummy meal, especially from the New Taj Palace, Singha Thai, or anything her kids would prepare from her cookbook. And no number of sweets was ever too much. She would light up reliving her fond memories of a life well lived. Linda will be deeply missed, but her legacy will live on through all who were lucky enough to know and love her.

Linda is survived by her children Alex (Shannan) and Ari (Jake), her sister Sharon Kelley, her sisters-in-law Coca Prunés and Rosario Prunés and several adoring nieces, nephews and great nieces and nephews. She is preceded in death by her husband Fernando, her son Anthony, her parents Joe and Kathleen Underwood, her brother Bruce Underwood, her brothers-in-law Bruce Kelley (Sharon), Enrique and Jaime Prunés, her sister-in-law Toñeta Prunés, and her parents-in-law Enrique and Carmen Prunés.

A celebration of life will be held for Linda at Luigi's Warehouse on October 23, 2025, at 12:00 pm.