Butch Linn, 89, passed away on September 22, 2017, from complications with Alzheimer’s. His beloved wife, Ruth Linn, died peacefully in her sleep after a long battle with dementia at the age of 93, on November 25, 2021. Both died in Rapid City, South Dakota, but had been long-time residents of Banner County, Nebraska. Their memorial service will be held at 1:30 p.m. on Friday, June 3, 2022, at the E-Free Church in Kimball, Nebraska, with Pastor Tyler White officiating. Inurnment will be held following the service at the Kimball Cemetery. The services for Butch and Ruth have been entrusted to Cantrell Funeral Home and will be livestreamed on Cantrell Funeral Home's Facebook page. Memorials have been made in their honor at both the Alzheimer’s Association and at Camp Rock in Redington, Nebraska.
Ruth Karin Hagstrom was born on December 1, 1927, in Elmhurst, Illinois, to Albert and Thyra (Larson) Hagstrom. Her family moved to Banner County, Nebraska, in 1934. Ruth graduated from Banner County High School in 1945, then attended Chadron State College and taught school in Districts 16, 5, 3, and 4. Oscar Gustav “Butch” Linn, Jr., was born February 23, 1928, in Kimball, Nebraska, to Oscar G. Linn, Sr., and Ruby Mae (Neely) Linn. On a visit to Linn Hardware Store in Kimball, Ruth met Butch, the love of her life. They were united in marriage on June 20, 1948, in Kimball. Butch served in the U.S. Army from 1952 to 1954 and in the reserves until 1960. Ruth’s childhood home then became their home where they farmed until Butch retired. One of the happiest days of their marriage was the day they brought home their beautiful baby boy, John Richard Linn, from the Nebraska Children’s Home in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1956.
In her spare time, Ruth enjoyed spending time sewing, traveling, and volunteering with the PEO, at Camp Rock, and the Twin Tree Sunday School. Butch led an active life farming and helping numerous people with their projects, including carpentry, plumbing, wiring, welding, and brick work. There wasn’t much he wouldn’t tackle, and that included his years at the Banner County Bank. Butch never hesitated to help someone out or to stop and talk. His handiwork could especially be seen at Camp Rock in Redington, Nebraska.
Butch and Ruth are survived by their son Rick (Becky) of Rapid City, SD; grandchildren Chad Linn (Lucy Jackson) of Gering, NE, Heath (Rochelle) of Rapid City, SD, and Amanda Linn (Tyler Schroll) of Cheyenne, WY; and great-grandchildren Alexus Edwards, Max Jackson, and Liam Linn; and Butch’s two sisters, Mary Elizabeth Moore and Barbara Jane (Carl) Love. They were preceded in death by both sets of parents; Butch’s two sisters, Anna Margaret (Henry) Petersen and Ruby Fern (Red) Ghan; Butch’s brother-in-law Dick Moore; and their daughter-in-law Nora Kay Linn.
