Linda Lee Erlandson was born on Dec 27th, 1956 in Helena Montana to parents Ronald Lee Tash and Patricia Leigh Fauver Tash. She was a late but very special Christmas present for the family. Her middle name was for her Grandfather, Leland Tash, and for both of her parents. She is survived by their son, Christopher John Erlandson and his wife Jennifer and their 4 boys, Liam, Luke, Ethan and James. She is also survived and greatly missed by her 7 siblings, Roger Tash, Marilyn Tash, Weston Tash, Ronald Tash, Diana Van Horn, Leland Tash and April Uriarte. She has 15 Nieces and Nephews and many Great Nieces and Nephews, all of which she loved to dote on.
Linda was the first child born to Ron and Patty but the 4th child in the blended family. In some ways she was the “oldest” and in other ways she was in the middle of the Tash clan. But, in all ways she was the quiet, studious, reliable sibling keeping an eye on the younger kids and setting a good example for them to follow. It could be said that the rest of siblings were a bit rambunctious, but Linda’s sweetness stood out in the pack.
Linda grew up attending the Church of Christ and spending summers at the Bow and Arrow Camp near Pray, Montana. Foothills Christian was her church home in Boise. She appreciated their small church home group that provided pray support over the years. Her love for God never wavered, even during the hardest of times.
Up until her senior year of High School, Linda attended Helena public schools in Montana. She ran track and belonged to 4H. She won several first place ribbons for her cooking and sewing. For her senior year of High School she attended and graduated from Columbia Christian in Portland, Oregon. She was a very loved classmate. Her friends said “she was so much fun and instigated so much laughter.” She was a favorite among the tight knit group.
A year after graduating from high school, Linda met Brad while she was working at Kmart in Helena. Brad worked for the local newspaper and was in the store to update Kmart’s ads with the newspaper. It was a whirlwind courtship and they eloped to Las Vegas 3 months later. It was the wildest thing she ever did in life! It’s a love story with a bittersweet ending. Brad was diagnosed with Alzheimer in his late 50s. Linda faithfully cared for Brad for the last 13 years of his life until he passed away in Oct 2022 after 46 years of marriage. She never wavered in her determination to keep him at home as long as possible despite the financial and emotional cost. Truly an inspiration to us all.
Linda’s career as a Hematology/Oncology/BMT Nurse Practitioner came later in life. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Nutrition in 1991 from Oregon State. She then went on to obtain her nursing degree from Vanderbilt University in 1998 at the age of 42. She did an internship at Doernbecher Children’s Hospital and also did a short internship in Australia before heading to Rochester Minnesota to work in the Children’s Oncology department at the Mayo Clinic. She made the move to Boise and St. Luke’s Medical Center in June 2006. She spent the last 18years healing and touching lives in their Fruitland office. Linda was the family’s “call a Nurse”. If anything hurt or you had a weird rash, you’d call Linda first for a diagnosis. She always had an answer, (sometimes laughter) and sometimes it was “get to the ER now”!
Her love of horses began with her many visits to see her Tash Grandparents in Twin Bridges, MT. Later in life when visiting her parents in Hamilton she would spend hours brushing down the horses. For several years she helped Kent & Mary Lou Conner with their large draft horses when they pulled wagons for public functions like hayrides for kids or Christmas celebrations in town. With her high stress job and the pressure of caring for Brad during his illness, she considered the horses a great form of therapy. They were her “happy place”. Linda loved her time in Montana and was making plans to move back to her home state.
When we asked friends and family to list things she was passionate about they said:
Her Faith in God & Jesus
Family –
Helping others
Her Dogs
Tea and Coffee
Cows
Charities
Supporting Small businesses
Recycling
British mystery shows
Quilting
Horses
Socks
Angels
Music
Books
Reciting quotes from her favorite movies
Any correspondence sent to her – she kept and treasured all the letters and photos sent by friends and family over the years.
Linda left this world for a much better place with God on March 18th. The hole she left here on earth is felt deeply by so many lives she touched. It was often said you couldn’t out give Linda, she was one of the most generous people in our lives. She was famous for her care packages that would arrive without notice, filled with love and special items she had picked up at various Farmer’s Markets.
Here are a couple of comments from her loved ones about her impact:
April (sister) words about Linda:
Linda was very tenderhearted. She always kept extra blankets in the car in case she came upon a dead cat or a dog by the side of the road. She would use the blankets to cover them up so that their owners wouldn’t find them that way.
Linda loved animals, specially baby animals. She loved to see the baby calves. To brush out the horses.
Those were her happy spots. Being with the animals just relaxing and enjoying their unconditional love.
St. Luke’s wrote: Patients and Staff loved Linda as much as she loved them. Patients often commented that appointments with Linda felt like visiting with family. She was extremely personable and easy to talk to, so she frequently identified and helped with a host of psychosocial needs in addition to medical concerns. While at the Mayo Clinic, she is sited as co-author of 5 scholarly articles and case studies on treatments of blood cancers. Linda’s contribution to cancer career and her legacy of personal impact of the lives of patients live on.
Co-worker, Jolene Parini- Shipley (aka Sister Jo): Thirteen short years ago walking into the Fruitland Cancer Institute I had the opportunity to meet a very, very special nurse practitioner, her name was Linda or LE. Little did I know that she would become my sister in Christ. I loved her as much as I love my own sister. We shared many special moments together going to musicals, fundraisers, breakfast, lunch, dinners, spending the weekends at our hut in Donnelly, Idaho. To just having a glass of wine and sharing important information about our families that were tugging at our heart strings. We laughed, cried and prayed. I will miss her hugs and kind words of encouragement, and her fire heart for Jesus. I know I will see her again in Heaven, until then I will miss you Sister Linda.
Long time Friend, Karla:
Linda Erlandson!
So extraordinary, dedicated, loyal and compassionate life friend!
She taught me the meaning of generosity and knew exactly how to put together a loving care package!
So satisfying, warm, snuggly and comforting!
Her sweet smile lives inside my heart forever.
We know there are many things about Linda’s life that we’ve missed or forgotten. We hope you’ll share your stories of Linda with us at the reception. God bless!