Linda Cranston

Linda Ferguson Cranston was born on a beautiful, crisp, Sunday morning on September 17,1944. Her parents were Loel Ferguson and Mary Albaugh Ferguson. They lived briefly in Montezuma, Iowa, until Loel bought a farm south of town. She grew up on the farm. She loved animals, bottle-fed calves, had a herd of cats and a dog named Porchy. She met the love of her life in high school, and she and David dated four years before eloping to marry. She and David spent over 65 years together, 61 in marriage. They had two children, Shelley, who is married to Chris Brown, and Cathy, who is married to Charles Cranston, who took the Cranston name when they married.
After graduating from Montezuma High School, she attended Iowa Methodist School of Nursing in Des Moines, graduating in the class of 1965. She worked mainly as an obstetrics nurse at Mary Greeley hospital in Ames, University Hospital in Iowa City first in labor and delivery and then head nurse of the maternity ward, and as a general nurse and head of Obstetrics at Central Community Hospital in Elkader. She worked in OB at Grinnell Regional Medical Center before retiring. She wrote a brief book about her nursing career, as yet unpublished.
Linda was very involved in 4-H, first as a member and later as a leader when her daughters were younger. She enjoyed going to the county and Iowa State Fairs. Her first official date with David was at the Iowa State Fair. She made fried chicken for a picnic lunch. It was known that she hated fried chicken, so she must have really loved him from the start. Linda loved to garden, raising vegetables and later her flower gardens. She literally spent hundreds of hours weeding and tending them. She didn't like David buying her cut-flowers, only plants, but loved to make her own arrangements with her home-grown ones. Linda was also very involved in the church, as a deacon and elder, and was a member of Church Women United. She was also known for her annual First Presbyterian Rummage Sales.
As a farmer, Linda's father was passionate about hunger issues and Linda followed suit. She supported the CROP Walk, Heifer International and was a key figure in starting the local Food Recovery Network chapter under the auspices of First Presbyterian in Grinnell. She loved needle point, sewing and quilting and donated many of them to various causes, including the Grinnell Museum. She was interested in current events, and like her mother, read news articles and watched news programs voraciously.
She loved to travel, both in the US and Canada, and made numerous trips to Colorado to hike in the Rocky Mountains, as well as the United Kingdom where she hiked across England for her 60th birthday. She also visited Japan, China, France, Germany, Italy and was on a world-wide cruise when Covid hit. She was in Brazil and planned to visit the Iguazu Falls between Brazil and Argentina but was unable to complete that because of a massive stroke, which caused her death on September 24, 2025. She was doing what she loved, traveling.
Besides the family listed above, she leaves to mourn brother David (Ann) Ferguson and in-laws Karen Quick, Steve (Francene) Cranston, Don (Betsy) Cranston, multiple nieces, nephews, cousins, and best friends Marilyn Heller and Florence Gifford, many other friends, as well as her beloved pets Claire, Bernie, Lucky & Jamie.
She was preceded in death by her parents, her sister, Lois Ann Ferguson, and in-laws Bev & Jay Simpson, Harold Quick, and Richard & Kymme Cranston.
Memorials may be made to the family, or to First Presbyterian Church, Grinnell. They will support causes Linda loved related to food insecurity. A Celebration of Life will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, November 1, 2025, at the First Presbyterian Church in Grinnell, IA. Visitation will be on Friday, October 31, 2025, at the First Presbyterian Church in Grinnell from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. Burial will be held at a later date at the Golden Rod Cemetery in Deep River, IA. Friends may leave memories and online condolences at www.cranstonfamilyfuneralhome.com