Linda Kay (Collins) Dunham

Linda Kay Collins Dunham, 77, of Austin, Texas, passed away 24 July 2023, at Seton Northwest Hospital, in Austin. She was born 12 December 1945, in Evansville, Indiana. She moved to Texas in June of 1976, and lived in Austin until her death, except for a period from 1978 to 1987, when she lived in Bexar County, near San Antonio. Previously, she lived in Milan, Illinois; Middlesex, New Jersey; Cementville, Indiana; and Evansville as an adult, and in Jacksonville, Illinois; Monmouth, Illinois; Springfield, Illinois; and Bondville, Illinois while growing up.

Linda graduated from the University of Evansville in 1968, and became a Registered Nurse, initially working at Welborn Clinic in Evansville. During her time in San Antonio she was Charge Nurse for the Gynecology floor of Bexar County Hospital, now known as University Hospital. After moving back to Austin, she became an office nurse for Kangos Pediatrics until she retired in 1999 due to failing knees.

Linda was a member of First United Methodist Church of Austin. She had a lifelong love of music, and sang in the Austin Civic Chorus, as well as several church choirs. She loved performing, and was in musical theater in San Antonio and Austin, including local productions of Music Man, Big River, Fiddler on the Roof, and Cinderella. She produced a fund-raising variety show for First United Methodist.

Linda loved animals. In addition to training her horse as a teenager, she developed an interest in dog training and performance competition. Starting in 1999 she trained several of her Great Danes for AKC competitive Obedience, with a high point in 2003 when she won High in Trial at the Great Dane National Specialty and finished the year with the number one Obedience Great Dane in the US. She also organized and directed a canine drill team that performed in Austin and San Antonio.

Linda had a lifelong interest in genealogy, and devoted many hours and several trips to researching her and her husband’s ancestry. She was also a gifted amateur photographer, and combined that with her love for dogs.

Linda is survived by her husband of 54½ years, Gerald (Jerry) Dunham; two sons, Richard and Andrew Dunham; one brother, Charles Richard Collins; nephews John Collins and Tyler Collins; and nieces Sallie Collins-Moseley and Emily Collins.

She was preceded in death by her father, John W. Collins, and her mother, Imogene Dougan Collins.