Obituary for Linda Ann Erlandson

Linda Ann (Knutson) Erlandson of Marion, Iowa died peacefully at her home July 29, 2024 in the presence of family. She was 78.

Linda is celebrated for her distinctive and frequent laugh, her fierce defense of those who are bullied or in need, and her forge-ahead confidence in God and in people. She was deeply curious about people and their life stories. During a 2019 girls’ trip to New York City, she’d warned her daughters and granddaughters to avoid being too open with other passersby. The next minute, she was chatting-up people on the subway.

There was nothing Linda enjoyed more than to welcome family and friends to table, to engage in conversation over food, board and card games, food, Mahjongg, puzzles, and more food. Any time you pass a plate, you do so with Linda’s blessing.

Linda was born in Kenmare, North Dakota on Sept. 20, 1945 to the Rev. Selmer C. Knutson and Bette J. (Lee) Knutson.

A pastor’s kid, she graduated Baldwin-Woodville (Wisconsin) High School in 1963. She was an officer on the school newspaper, a clarinetist in marching band, and a member of the school’s public-speaking forensics team. She also sang in the school’s first madrigal group, and had a lead role in the school’s 1962 production of the musical “Annie Get Your Gun.” (Family members say the production was lightly censored, due to community concerns. Some lines were just “a little too racy.”) Her senior photo was captioned “500 words a minute—and no typewriter!!”

Her siblings describe her as a powerhouse of energy and ambition. Her daughters nicknamed her the Energizer Bunny, alluding to the popular battery-company advertising mascot of the 1990s.

Linda graduated St. Barnabas School of Nursing, Minneapolis in 1966. Her first job as a registered nurse was at the Sister Kenny Institute in Minneapolis, an innovative rehabilitation-based center originally established for the treatment of polio. In her youth, she was a noteworthy seamstress—she could make anything, from bridesmaid dresses to furniture slipcovers. In her adult family life, she was known for taking great pride in her home’s decor. Choosing new paint colors could involve months of deliberations, dinner conversations, and tests. One particular home-design trophy was stripping white and red paint off of a small Scandinavian pump organ, which then took pride-of-place in her home’s living room.

On Aug. 3, 1968, she married Robert J. Erlandson of Cokato, Minnesota. The two had met in a Lutheran church choir on the Twin Cities campus of the University of Minnesota, where he was a graduate student in electrical engineering. Early married life saw moves from Minnesota to New Mexico and Colorado, before the young family of five arrived in the Cedar Rapids, Iowa metro area. Linda enjoyed biking, skiing, gardening, canoeing, and travel. In 2018, the couple celebrated their 50th anniversary with their children and grandchildren in a cluster of cabins near Grand Portage, Minnesota. As recently as 2023, the couple traveled to Greece and Norway.

In a story she loved to tell on herself, Linda once special-ordered brand-new wall-to-wall carpet for her Marion, Iowa house. When the floor-covering arrived, she balked at the celery-green color, which now seemed more intense than it had in store samples. To pay for ordering a different carpet and color—the custom order could not be refunded—Linda concluded that she needed to return to paid work. For the rest of her life, she credited Smulekoff’s Home Store for motivating her to return to nursing and to eventually launch a home-care nursing business with fellow nurse Helen Kueter, a partnership that lasted until 1999, when the business was sold.

In addition to raising three daughters, she and her husband were active in Lutheran Church of the Resurrection in Marion, including many projects and ministries there, such as Habitat for Humanity and Community Free Health Clinic of Cedar Rapids. After retirement, among numerous other volunteer activities, Linda taught nurse aides at Kirkwood Community College and smoking cessation at the Community Free Health Clinic.

Linda is survived by her husband; a sister, Lois Lackore and her husband Stephen of Rochester, Minnesota; and two brothers, Lee Knutson and his wife Lourdes Jose of Chicago; and Lorne Knutson and his wife Marianne of Lino Lakes, Minnesota. She is also survived by three daughters, Kirsten Bich and her husband Brian Bich of Duluth, Minnesota; Karn Erlandson and her husband Kris Spence of Portage, Michigan; and Anne Erlandson Brown and her husband Randy Brown of Johnston, Iowa. She is survived by five grandchildren: Nathan and Connor Bich; Helen Spence; and Kieran and Ian Brown.

Arrangements are being made via Iowa Cremation of Cedar Rapids. A celebration of life service will be held 11:00 a.m. on Aug. 31, 2024 at Lutheran Church of the Resurrection in Marion, Iowa. Luncheon to follow. Visit https://www.lcrmarion.org a few days prior for a link to the live stream of the service.

Memorial donations may be sent to: Community Free Health Clinic of Cedar Rapids (www.communityhfc.org/donate/) or mail to: 947 14th Ave. SE, Cedar Rapids, IA 52401; and ELCA World Hunger (www.elca.org/Our-Work/Relief-and-Development/ELCA-World-Hunger/Ways-to-Give).

The family welcomes messages and memories via Google Forms questionnaire here: https://forms.gle/ozfDam84HsbJQ5qj6