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Linda Jean (Lindgren) Holstein

Linda Jean (Lindgren) Holstein, of Sweet and Horseshoe Bend, Idaho, passed away at her home on Saturday, Dec. 15, 2018, at 73 years of age. Linda, the firstborn child of Virgil Glenwood Lindgren and Jean Delores Dodds, was born in Spokane, Wash., on Sept. 12, 1945. In her youth, Linda was a Camp Fire Girl and member of the Tweetering Bluebirds of Willard. She attended the Spokane Public Schools and graduated from Shadle Park High School in 1963.

After high school, Linda worked at The Bon Marche in Spokane while attending college. On the weekend, Linda and her friends would make trips over to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. This is where Linda got to know her future husband, William Alex “Bill” Holstein, who was a bouncer and bartender at the Rathskeller Inn and student at North Idaho College.

Linda and Bill were married on June 6, 1966, at the North Hill Christian Church in Spokane. At the time she was working in the loan department at the Fairchild Air Force Base Credit Union. Bill had started working for the State Farm Insurance Company as an auto claims adjuster, and they relocated to Salem, Ore., in 1966, which is where their first two children, William and Brad, were born. The family moved several times since then (from one claims office to another). First to Missoula, Mont., and then to Lewiston, Idaho, where their daughter, Laura Jean was born (in nearby Clarkston, Wash.) and then to Boise, Idaho.

Linda enjoyed creating things out of paper, cloth, ceramics, wood or whatever she could get her hands on. She would make cards, quilts, and clothing for her family, and worked at various department and clothing stores, such as the Men’s Wardrobe. She was a Cub Scout leader for her sons and assisted Bill with his Optimist Club duties (Pacific Northwest District Governor for clubs in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Alaska and British Columbia).

In 1974, Linda and Bill started Boise Pool Sales, a family run swimming pool business. Since Bill was working full time for State Farm, Linda oversaw the majority of the pool business, with their sons, Will and Brad, becoming involved as they grew older. Boise Pool & Spa shut its doors in 1996. Bill retired from State Farm in 2004 and Linda designed the new home they built in Gem County, which they moved into in 2008.

Linda was a member of the Syringa Club and has assisted with fundraising and other events and activities in the community. She was elected club Vice President earlier this year, but she stepped down in June after being diagnosed with lung cancer. After completing a series of chemo sessions, her strength was starting to return, but she was taken from us in December.

Linda is survived by her sons, William “Bill” and Brad of Boise, Idaho; sister Cindy (Gayle) Ford of Onalaska, Wash.; her two brothers, Brad (Audrey) Lindgren of Centralia, Wash., and Russ (Melanie) Lindgren of Chesapeake, Va.; and several nieces and nephews. Linda was preceded in death by her parents; daughter, Laura (1973); and husband, Bill (2012).

Memorial services will be held at 11 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 3, 2019, at the Potter Funeral Chapel, 228 E. Main St. in Emmett, Idaho. Burial will follow in the Sweet Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to the Horseshoe Bend Mutual Improvement Club (a.k.a. Sweet-Montour Syringa Club), P.O. Box 282, Horseshoe Bend, ID 83629.