Linnea Ledin Carlson

Linnea Ledin Carlson
Resident of Santa Cruz
Linnea Ledin Carlson died peacefully in her sleep at the age of 98 in Santa Cruz, California on Jan. 21st. She was born in Fresno on August 3, 1915, the youngest of 5 children of Carl and Zara Ledin. Her parents were born in Sweden, and Linnea was bilingual from a young age. She excelled in school, graduating at the top of her class at Hillmar High School. She met her husband, Arvid, at the Mission Springs Conference Center in Scotts Valley, California, where her father was the resident minister. Arvid, a prospective pastor himself, married Linnea in 1939, and they built a number of churches including the Mission Covenant Church in Pasadena into vibrant evangelical communities. When Arvid moved to Felton to pastor the Felton Evangelical Free church in the early 1970s, Linnea was the quintessential pastor's wife, creating the Christmas and Easter pageants, sewing the costumes, painting the backdrops and writing the scripts, all the time opening their home to anyone who needed extra help, fellowship or a good meal. In addition to being a preacher's wife, Linnea was also a bookkeeper, a translator of Swedish documents and an artist. Linnea remained in Santa Cruz after Arvid died in 2006, living her last years at Maple House Assisted Living in Live Oak. She is survived by her three children— Linda Bergthold, Pamela Burnham and Charles Carlson, 5 grandchildren and 6 great grandchildren. Arrangements for a Memorial Service will be forthcoming. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made in her name to Hospice of Santa Cruz County at www.hospicesantacruz.org