Linda M. Farley

Linda M. Farley age 84 of Richfield. Linda Farley of Richfield died peacefully on 11/20/24 with her husband of 64 years, Austin, by her side.

Linda grew up and graduated high school from Onamia, MN. Her family didn’t have much, but they always made the best of it and had lots of help from their neighbors and friends. Linda met Austin when she “moved to the big city” and started working as a secretary. They were married in 1960 and raised 3 children Tammy, Terry and Elisa.

Her caring nature was a major part of her character. She always welcomed friends to come in for a coke and a chat. She and Austin became surrogate parents to nieces & nephews & friends who had lost their own. Many of her children’s friends, became hers too whether they were just stopping by or if they needed a place to stay for awhile. She cared for her mother Elsie after her diagnosis with dementia. This was not always easy, but they continued caring for her in our home for 25 years. Linda also raised and loved many pets over the years, Dogs, cats, hamsters, gerbils, rabbits and a bird. She even took in a few cats when the owners could no longer keep them or when they just showed up at the door with no place to stay. She spent many mornings driving Terry to hockey practice & cheering him on at games in the cold rink. When Elisa was on the swim team, she dedicated many hours to sitting in the uncomfortably hot pool area to watch. She never confirmed which was worse the cold of the Hockey rink or the heat of the pool. After her grandchildren were born, she would always make time to watch over them or volunteer at their school events.

She loved to invite friends and family over for the holidays. Her favorite holiday to host was the St Patrick’s Day party. It became a huge party that they hosted for decades. It was a highlight of the year and led to lots of cherished memories. These parties and memories are one of the reasons that Tammy & John got married on St Patrick’s Day. She enjoyed walking in many of the parades with them and the rest of the family.

Her favorite job was working for Northwest Airlines. She had many friends there that she “adopted” too. At that time many people booked trips through a travel agency. She’d joke about what she actually did and would say, “I call up travel agencies to get the money they owed, if they give me a hard time, I tell them “Pay up or I’ll break your legs!” Then she would laugh, because being 5’2” and about 100lbs, doesn’t instill the fear of the mob. Working for the airlines allowed her and Austin to go on many trips over the years. They were able to visit Terry many times when he lived in San Diego and more than 5 trips to Australia after he & Kris were married. She was happy to get the chance to visit her niece Carolyn more often when she and Jim lived in Moorhead. They made several trips to Hawaii, including a cruise for their 50th wedding anniversary with the family. They had a tradition of going to Seattle every Thanksgiving to spend it with her cousin. They enjoyed trips all around the world some of note were trips to The Great Wall of China, Thailand, Mexico, and Japan. They also traveled all over the United States and went on a few cruises.

Just before the pandemic Linda & Austin moved to Prairie Bluffs Senior Living in Eden Prairie. They both enjoyed meeting new people and going on the planned outings and activities. When she was diagnosed with Dementia, Austin continued taking care of her as long as possible. She was encouraged to move to the memory care unit 2 years ago where she was well cared for. Throughout the last few years of her life, Austin would walk across the facility every day to visit her and stay by her side.

Preceded in death by her daughter, Tammy Worrell and sister, Alice Miller; niece, Chris Schrader; and grand-niece, Amanda. Survived by her loving husband, Austin; son, Terry (Kris) Farley; daughter, Elisa (Dave) Peters; son-in-law, John Worrell; grandsons, Brian and Carson; nieces and nephews, Colleen (Erik) Reichert, Carolyn (Jim) Kastella; Jeff Schrader, Ivan Miller; grand-nephew, Noah and grand-niece, Julia.