Obituary of Linda Rose Corder

Linda Rose Corder, 77, of Freehold, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, February 4, 2025 at Mattison Crossing.  Linda, who was born in Trenton and raised in Ewing, was a lifelong musician.  She began piano lessons at a young age and later studied violin.  She graduated in 1965 from Ewing High School, where she played violin in the school orchestra.  Her love of music brought her to Westminster Choir College in Princeton as a piano major where she sang in the Symphonic Choir and performed at Carnegie Hall twice under the direction of Leonard Bernstein.  Before graduating in 1969 with a Bachelor’s in Music Education, she met Randy Corder, an organ major at Westminster from Batesburg, SC.  They married on April 10, 1971, and moved to Freehold, where they lived for the 39 years of their marriage.  After teaching music for 3 years in the Marlboro school district, she left teaching in 1974 to have a daughter, Jennifer, and later returned to the workforce as a secretary.  She later pursued a career in the telecommunications field working for Bell Labs and AT&T and pursued two degrees while working full-time: an associates degree from Brookdale Community College and then a master’s degree in computer science from Monmouth University.  She worked the majority of her career for AT&T in Holmdel, Lincroft, and Middletown until her retirement in the early 1990’s. Following in the footsteps of her grandmother and mother, Linda was a lifelong member of the Lutheran church and was both a congregational member and choir member at Grace Lutheran Church and Hope Lutheran Church in Freehold, as well as St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in East Windsor. She also was a choir member of the First Baptist Church of Freehold where her husband Randy served as Minister of Music for 25 years.  In 2005, she welcomed her first grandson, James, followed by grandson Matthew in 2008.  She loved spending time with her grandsons, especially playing their favorite board games and watching Peanuts specials.

Linda loved nature and relished her time at walking the trails at Bowman's Hill Wildflower Preserve at Washington Crossing State Park and Battleground State Park in Freehold.  In addition to music, she had a wonderful talent for quilting.  She displayed her quilts in many area craft shows and several of her quilts were selected for awards in local quilting competitions.  She offered quilting classes through the Monmouth County Park System and was a member of the Jersey Shore Modern Quilt Guild and the Molly Pitcher Stitchers Quilt Guild. 

Linda was a devoted wife, loving mother and adoring grandmother. She was predeceased by her husband, Randy Corder in 2010.  She is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Jennifer and Justin Garr of New Egypt and two grandsons, James Garr and Matthew Garr.

Relatives and friends may gather at First Baptist Church of Freehold, 81 West Main Street, Freehold, on Saturday, February 15, 2025 at 10:00 AM followed by a celebration of her life through scripture and song at 11:00 AM.  For those who cannot attend in person, you may participate via the funeral home’s webcast HERE.  Interment will follow in Old Tennent Cemetery, Tennent.  In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, P.O. Box 5014, Hagerstown, Maryland 21741 or HERE.  For information, directions or condolence messages to the family, visit www.claytonfuneralhome.com.