Linda Hamburg

Linda Gail Hamburg (Goodson)

January 2, 1950 – March 13, 2025

Linda Gail Hamburg (Goodson) of Creal Springs, Illinois passed away at her home from an aortic aneurysm on March 13, 2025.

Loving wife, mother, grandmother, friend, and colleague to many in her hometown of Chicago and subsequently in the communities of Homewood, Illinois and Smackover, Arkansas before enjoying a peaceful retirement in the Lake of Egypt community of Creal Springs, Illinois. She leaves behind a profound legacy of selfless service and leadership across multiple communities.

Born January 2, 1950, at Little Company of Mary Medical Center in Evergreen Park, Illinois to Arthur A. and Anna Mae Goodson, she spent her childhood in Pullman and graduated from Tinley Park High School in 1967. A trailblazer, she put herself through college and was the first in her family to earn a college degree, graduating from Northern Illinois University in 1971.

She enjoyed a multi-decade career as membership services manager at the Homewood-Flossmoor Racquet & Fitness Club in Homewood, Illinois, where she stewarded the successful annual festival Tennisfest, which remarkably attracted visits from tennis legends Billie Jean King and Stan Smith. At “The Club,” she enjoyed the friendship and camaraderie of many colleagues over a three-decade career, where she supported and became a friend to thousands of members in the Homewood-Flossmoor community. She was notably a champion racquetball and tennis player, winning many individual and World Team Tennis titles during her longtime athletic career.

Most importantly, it was at the H-F Racquet & Fitness Club where she met her husband Laurence W. Hamburg, a champion tennis player and United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA) teaching professional himself, to whom she was devoted for more than 40 years.

In addition to her husband Laurence, she leaves behind two children, Jonathan A. Jensen (Michelle), and Erica A. Earley (Robert), who she lovingly supported in each and every one of their endeavors throughout their lives, and five adoring grandchildren: Alyssa Svoboda (Matthew), Taylor Douma (Max), Amelia, Jack, and Mason.

Arrangements were entrusted to Blue Funeral Home under the direction of Binkley-Ross.  Please visit www.bluefuneralhome.com to leave your condolences online.

She will be interred next to her parents at Cross Roads Cemetery in Louann, Arkansas at a later date.