Obituary of John Linder

John Charles Linder passed away peacefully in his home January 20, 2026.  Born November 23, 1945, He was the son of loving parents Henry and Grace Linder.  John, with his siblings, David and Sarah, enjoyed childhood exploration of mid-century Iowa City.  Neighborhood boys gathered on corners battling for model tank and airplane supremacy.  University of Iowa football was king.  John never had a ticket but was “pretty sure” he never missed a home game between 1955 and 59.  He and other kids matched wits with Kinnick staff.  “We crawled under a fence, pointed out a “fake” father or just rushed en masse overwhelming the gate.  They couldn’t grab us all.” John remembered.

He attended Horace Mann and Central Junior High walking home to 120 North Dodge St. daily for lunch.  His love of the outdoors was inherited from his father.  They hunted on Henry’s birthplace near Linder Point and fished for trout in northern Iowa, walleyee and pike in Canada and what would bite in the Iowa river.  Friend Dennis Davis tells how John shed all but his shorts diving into a local pond to retrieve a snagged lure.  John approached most things head first and feet off the ground.

He graduated from City High and then Drake University in 1968.  He frequently rode home from Drake for holidays with his friend Dave Orris.  One break Dave and West Liberty native, Marsha Linder decided to play a joke.  They claimed that Marsha didn’t have a way home from Iowa City to West Liberty.  Dave told John he’d have to driver her.  John said no.  Marsha joined in the fun.  How was she going to get home?  Her dad was away.  Feeling trapped and frustrated, John turned red.  Dave and Marsha pestered but John remained steadfast. He couldn’t do it.  This continued until They pulled to the curb at the Jefferson Hotel in downtown Iowa City.  J. Joe Wright stood there at the curb waiting for his daughter.  Marsha smiled as she got out and said, “Bye. Bye.” 

A joke became a friendship which in turn led to a relationship.  In the summer of 1967 John traveled Europe and Marsha studied French in Quebec.  They both enjoyed travel.  Marsha wanted to see more exotic lands and John wanted to be with her.  So, he jumped in and proposed, “marriage and the Peace Corp.”  They were married at the Danforth Chapel in Iowa City and in October 1968, they flew to Molokai for Fijian culture and language training. 

Their first home was a palm thatched bure on the remote island of Koro.  They shared it with three parrots; Ka Levu, Ka Vemama and Ka Lei Lei (in English big thing, middle thing and little thing).  Their first year of marriage was spent on this small island of a few hundred inhabitants.  John walked the island of Koro checking on 7 village cooperatives and Marsha taught 7^th grade in Fijian.  In radio’s heyday, John lined their bure with copper wire improving short wave reception.  They stayed connected this way tuning into international broadcasts from around the world.  One hot summer night, John woke Marsha up at 3 AM to watch Apollo 11 re-enter the atmosphere.  Producing a fiery glow, the module fired thrusters controlling the descent into the Pacific Ocean 1,000 miles east of Koro. 

The next year on Ovalau island John again worked in village cooperatives.  Marsha taught in a catholic boy’s school preparing students for Oxford exams.  Once a month friends, Frank and Betty, climbed the steep steps up the large hill to the Linder’s white colonial house aptly named Selana (place in the clouds).  They shared a bottle of wine and a pot of spaghetti and watched the full moon rise from the ocean.  John loved to watch the Pacific horizon amplify a setting sun rising moon.  When his son visited Fiji in 1999, John told him to take a moment and savor the experience. 

They lived in Fiji for 2 years.  Fijian language and culture rooted their marriage and family.  They spoke their “secret” language often and openly for 57 years.  They discussed all things in Fijian.  Paul Morano recalls John counting tires in Fijian dua, rua, tolu, va, lima (one, two, three).  In 1971 returning from Fiji, they traveled 6 months home through Sydney, Bali, Singapore, Malaysia, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Calcutta, New Delhi, Nepal, Kabul, Iran, Rome, Paris and London.

Returning home, John completed a master’s degree at the University of Iowa and took over management of Linder Tire Service, supervising a move from 30 East College St. to Riverside Drive. While a boy, John started work at Linder Tire reclaiming used wheel weights.  He cleaned them, painted them white and sorted them into piles.  John’s legacy at Linder Tire is one of lifelong employees, service with integrity, and a personal touch.  He valued people and it showed.  He walked and worked with employees through hard times.  He loved to show customers a tire or take them to search for a used one in the “tin shed.”  He also served 16 years on the board of directors of Hercules Tire and Rubber.  Linder Tire’s character and culture touched many during John’s tenure. 

In 1972 daughter Rachel was born then son John Joseph and daughter Hannah.  Satisfying the seed planted by rural life in Fiji, John and Marsha purchased an acreage in 1978.  It became the center of family life.  John enjoyed the country and enthusiastically raised sheep and chickens, less so a foray into 3 cows, a couple horses and rabbits.  John kept bees for harvesting honey and a large garden.  In winter, he enjoyed cutting firewood to heat their house with his wood burning furnace.  He and his son would estimate the number of whacks it would take to split each log.    

John loved to cook large meals specializing in the holidays.  His cooking motto was, “If a little bit’s good, a lots gotta be better.”  A life long reader he loved history, historical fiction and non-fiction.  In retirement he completed three readings of the Bible.  John walked a life of faith and relationship with God through Jesus Christ.  He shared that journey with his wife, family friends and men’s groups.  It was born of trust and experience that guided and strengthened him especially over the past two and half years.  He loved banter and sayings such as; “I’m glad you got to see me, Come again when you can’t stay as long, Grab it and growl” were among his favorites.  John’s presence was one to be felt and he will be missed.  

John’s family includes his wife, Marsha, their children, Rachel and Russell Lee, John and Sara Linder, and Hannah and Chris Dimond; seven grandchildren, Elizabeth Lee, Helena Lee, Faith Lee, Cora Dimond, Jack Linder, Emmitt Dimond and Ellie Linder; his sister Sarah and Michael Hoevet, and sisters-in-law Jean Linder, Mary and Ron Maxson, Jeanie Wright and Mike Sniffen.  He has many nieces and nephews. 

Funeral services will be held on Saturday, February 21, 2026, at 11 am at the Veritas Church in Tiffin.  Visitation will be from 4 to 7 pm Friday, February 20^th at Gay & Ciha Funeral and Cremation Service in Iowa City. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made in John’s honor to Iowa City Hospice and Hillside Christian School.