Linnea Netterstrom, 77, died in her sleep Dec. 30, 2024, at her home in Bryant, Arkansas. She had the last hurrah, foiling her daughter's plans to move her into long-term care the first day of the new year. She spent her last week living how she liked: quietly at home, smoking her illicit cigarettes, napping and watching television.

A life-long Democrat, it makes sense Linnea died immediately after Jimmy Carter did. We're not certain she knew he passed, but with the amount of NPR radio and news television she consumed daily, surely she heard.

Though she may not have been the best housekeeper or attentive parent, she instilled in her children these key beliefs: all people are created equal; always be an ally; and women have bodily autonomy.

Born on Dec. 15, 1947, in Oak Park, Illinois, Linnea Margaret Skoglund was the daughter of Harold Oliver Skoglund of Chicago and Ruth Luella McKeehen of Bentonville, Arkansas. She was the youngest of three children, with her two brothers, Hal and Jon, proceeding her in death. She was also proceeded in death by many cherished birds, cats and dogs, and earlier in 2024 by her ex-husband, Gerald Netterstrom, whom she married in 1976.

She was the proud mother of two children, Eric Netterstrom (Jessica) of Augusta, Georgia, and Kristin Netterstrom Higgins (Dusty) of Bryant. She loved her grandchildren from afar: Hailey Netterstrom, and Kahlan and Asher Higgins. She is also survived by her favorite cousin, Gale Levenson of Nevada, and a favorite dog, Wonder.

Linnea was smart, problem solving in ways no one would ever attempt. Who needed working lights when you had a lantern! She possessed a sweet soul and knitted thousands of hats, scarves and sweaters, some of which were sold at the gift shop of Mercy Hospital in Rogers. She made her last baby blanket for the grandson of a family friend. She loved gems, always stopping to the chagrin of her children to look at jewelry for sale and to educate store employees about the stones they had. She loved speaking rusty French and trying out her Spanish when meeting her neighbors and kind strangers at the grocery store in Rogers. Her 1969 trip to Panama to visit a college friend was one of her favorite memories, and she could tell you everything about the Bolsheviks and art history.

Linnea graduated from Evanston Township High School and received a bachelor's degree in history from Morningside College in Iowa, where she learned about many cultures from international student friends. She grew up in the First United Methodist Church of Evanston, Illinois, where her parents attended, where she married and baptized her children. At her mother's urging, she moved with her children to Rogers in January 1993, for a new beginning in the south. She wasn't able to keep a job, so she put all her available energy into driving her children everywhere they needed to go.

Her parents took care of her as long as possible, and then her brothers, and eventually her children. Linnea moved to Bryant in 2020 to be near her daughter and grandchildren. She also had the benefit of friendship and care from Sequia Molo the last several years of her life and an amazing APRN, Shelley Payne, who did everything possible to respect her wishes.

Her children plan to celebrate Linnea's life in 2025. They ask for any donations celebrating Linnea's life be given to CLAWS, a volunteer-run cat rescue in Central Arkansas that worked miracles to rehome her senior cat, Teddy, when no animal shelter in Rogers gave a damn about their situation. Donations can be given online at https://www.clawscatrescue.org/donate.