Luther Leon Linquist, 87

Luther Leon Linquist, 87, passed away on June 19, 2023, after a wonderful life of 87 years. His family is grateful for the excellent care he received by the staff at Brendan House in Kalispell.

He is survived by his wife of 62 years Kay; his son, Aaron (Nadine); and daughters, Ione (children Brisman, Nolan and Kutuk) and Leah (Cliff and children Finnbarr, Aidan and Brendan).

He was born to Harry and Freda on Sept. 28, 1935. His birth happened while the rest of the family was at Glenn and Doris Linquist's for a farewell to Conrad, who was returning to Sweden.

He attended Maple Hill School for grades 1-8, Red Oak High School, Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois and Augustana Seminary. His internship (1958-59) was at Elim Lutheran Church on the south side of Chicago.

He and Kay Spong met at Camp Augustana and were married in 1960. Leon was ordained as a pastor in the Augustana Lutheran Church in June of 1961.

He served Augustana congregation in Edmonton, Alberta, Bethesda congregation in Kenora, Ontario and Epiphany congregation in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

He was pastor-in-residence at the Lutheran Seminary in Saskatoon for eight months in 1999. He served Finnish Lutheran congregations in Covington and Trout Creek, Michigan prior to his retirement in 2006.

The Linquists lived in New Haven, Connecticut from 2007-2017. He enjoyed family gatherings and various building projects at their summer place by Iron River, Michigan.

They moved to Kalispell in 2017 where they enjoyed time with their daughter, Ione and her family, as well as friends they made at the senior center and their church.

Tentative date for the Luther's funeral service is at 11 a.m. on Aug. 4, at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Kalispell.