Judith A. Linn

Judy Linn, 79, of Mount Ayr, passed away Oct. 22, 2022. A visitation will be held at 1:30 - 2:30 p.m. with a memorial service beginning at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 6 at Wishard Chapel Community Church, 1796 State Highway 169, Mount Ayr. A reception will follow in the church.

Memorials are to the Mount Ayr Public Library and Wishard Chapel’s sound system. Armstrong Funeral Home in Mount Ayr is in charge of the arrangements.

Judith “Judy” Arlene (Krueger) Linn was born June 15, 1943, daughter of Bernard and Margaret (Hohertz) Krueger in Creston. She unexpectedly departed this life for her home in heaven on Oct. 22, 2022, at her apartment in Mount Ayr.

Judy grew up in Creston along with her older sister, Pat, and younger brother, Don. She graduated from Creston High School in 1961, then went to work for the Creston Phone Company and remained an active member of Trinity Lutheran Church. In 1967 she married Robert “Bob” Linn of Stuart, and moved to the Linn Family farm south of Stuart. Daughter Christine and son Lee were born to this union. Judy spent many years as a homemaker, raising her family and being a farm wife. There was never a dull moment on the farm - always taking care of someone including making lunches for all the haymakers over the years.

Once the kids were older she started working in the elementary library, and then for many years drove to Des Moines to work at the main Farm Bureau office. She was an active member of the rural Jefferson Center Methodist Church holding many positions over the years and making sure her children got to church every Sunday. Amongst her busy schedule she also battled breast cancer and never missed a day at work or missed fixing a meal for Bob and Lee.

Her grandchildren Elisha and Megan were very special and she spent many weekends entertaining them on the farm while their parents worked. Once the girls were older, she taught them how to weave and sew and was the supervisor for many of their 4-H projects. Grandma Linn never missed an event despite the distance to Mount Ayr.

Bob and Judy retired from the farm to Mount Ayr in 2003. She became active in the rural Wishard Chapel Church, finding a new church family. Attending all Elisha and Megan’s events and being a mentor and maker of the many treats the girls had to bring for events over the years kept her very busy.

Despite this, she continued to enjoy her hobby of quilting, hand sewing appliqued quilt tops and quilting them by hand. She also wove many projects on her floor loom and was a member of the Weaver’s Web; passing this tedious craft on to her two grandchildren. Most recently she changed to counted cross stitch and made many beautiful cross-stitched pictures that she shared with others at the county fair.

After her great grandchild Jayden was born, she babysat him every afternoon and still brought him home from school every day. She also took care of her grand dog, Huxy, making sure she got outside and was well fed and petted for hours while everyone was gone.

If she wasn’t with her family, Judy could be found at her favorite place in Mount Ayr, the public library. She was an avid reader and probably had read most of the fiction books there. She also donated many books she bought and introduced new authors to the library selection. Her love of books and her father’s legacy of typing braille brought her to volunteer to type in braille for the Department of the Blind.

She always enjoyed the yearly workshops at the Department of the Blind and got others in Mount Ayr interested in volunteering for them as well. Being a volunteer for EveryStep Hospice also kept her busy. In the past few years she enjoyed calling bingo and having potlucks at the senior center and traveled on a few bus trips out east. Judy also enjoyed visiting with her many neighbors at Polk Villa.

Judy’s favorite time of the year was the Christmas holiday and reminded everyone of the true reason. The spirit of the season also inspired a girls trip in 2019 to Walt Disney World to enjoy the beauty of their Christmas time. Going on trips out west to Arizona, Nevada and Colorado, brought her great joy seeing the natural landscapes.

She is survived by her children, Lee Linn of Stuart and Christine Doubleday of Mount Ayr; granddaughter Elisha and great-grandson Jayden Doubleday of Mount Ayr and granddaughter Megan (Devan) Wicks and great-grandson Isaac of Ankeny; sister Pat Morrison of Greenfield and her children; brother Don (Sydra) Krueger of Bay City, Michigan, and their children; nieces and nephews of the Linn side.

Preceding her in death is her spouse Robert “Bob” Linn; parents Bernard and Margaret Krueger and stepmother Mary Krueger.