Linda Marie Stahlman

Linda Marie Stahlman October 15, 1943 - July 12, 2011 Born in Wendell, Idaho to Mildred Quarry and Charles Sanders, Linda was raised by her mother, Mildred and stepfather, Edward Hartman, primarily in the Buhl area. She did spend alot of her early childhood with her Grandmother and Grandfather, Belle and John Quarry in Wendell, and later moved with her parents to Buhl, where she attended school. During her school years, Linda was active in a variety of subjects and organizations, such as playing the piano, and her involvement in Job's Daughters, an organization that she took very seriously and was crowned queen for her efforts. Upon graduation from school, Linda went on to be an excellent wife to Jerry Stahlman, and to be the best Mom in the world to her four children. Linda is survived in death by her daughters, Angela Stahlman of Jerome, Idaho, Kimberly Colsden of Kearney, Nebraska, and her two sons, Douglas Stahlman and Daniel Stahlman both of Selby, South Dakota, as well as her six grandchildren, Greg, Brett, Derek, Jessica, Brooke, and McKenna, her father, Edward Hartman, and former spouse Jerry Stahlman. Linda had a full, rich life which included many hobbies, primarily knitting, sewing, quilting, reading, watching movies, her extreme interest in history and biographies, and travel. In 1968, the family moved East to Elm Creek, Nebraska, where they began a new branch of the family business, Beekeeping. Once the business was up and running, Linda endeavored to open up her own business, a ceramics shop, where she taught classes, sold greenware and paint, and fired the works of her family and friends and eventually led her to pour, paint and fire her own porcelain dolls which she made period costumes for. This was just the beginning of her lifelong love of crafts, which also included sewing everything from mens/womens suits to down vests and comforters, to particularly detailed quilts. She was entirely self taught in all of her hobbies, and this included knitting and crocheting. Over the years, Linda has made many beautiful gifts for her family and friends. She was really into knitting socks recently, and had made several pair of intricately knit socks with varying lace patterns, as Linda always loved a challenge and learning something new. Linda's hobbies led to many interesting career choices. In addition to having her ceramic shop for many years, she also had a gift shop in which she and Angela made the majority of items ranging from dolls to jewelry. Her passion for sewing and movies led her to a career as a costumer for a couple of historical films made in Nebraska, where her sewing skills were really shown to advantage. She was also a Front Desk Manager at the Kearney Holiday Inn, which led to her meeting a large variety of sports and entertainment personalities. During her tenure with the Great Platte River Road Archway Monument, Linda met President William Clinton and Hillary R. Clinton, and when the film "About Schmidt" was filmed at the Arch, Linda met Jack Nicholson. Linda wore many hats for the Archway; She traveled all over the Plain's States promoting the Arch, worked in the gift shop, and was also a tour guide for the museum. Linda had many interests including her various hobbies, history, reading everything from histories to biographies, to her love of travel, and playing her various video games. Linda was always encouraging others to take up playing with video games to "stay sharp in the mind." She loved to play everything from the video poker and other games like that, but also the games that entailed some histroy or travel facts, which she was always eager to share with everyone else. Her sense of humor was also very well known amingst everyone who ever knew her, and Linda found humor in many things. Her children and grandchildren will always remember how she would make up silly songs or make funny faces and was always quick to come up with a joke or a funny story to make a tough time better. Everything she did, she made fun; from family trips and camp outs to excellent family dinners. There were always special dishes that Mom made that can never be duplicated, it's never quite like Mom's with her special touches. She always tried to make the holidays and birthdays special with her decorated cakes and her gifts that were always just right. Mom always knew what everybody wnated and made sure that they had it. Linda was continually encouraging everyone to always learn something new and to enjoy life as much as possible by doing the things they enjoyed most. With her exquisite taste and inate abilities, Linda made many beautiful homes for her family, no matter where they lived, whether it was Nebraska, moving to open a new branch of the business in South Dakota, or helping her family make their own homes, Wherever she was, Linda made a beautiful life. Linda will be remembered by all of us for different things, whether it was her sharp sense of style, her crafting and homemaking abilities, her ability to make friends wherever she went of whatever she was doing, but most of all for her positive, upbeat personality and her charming smile; She never knew a stranger, and was always eager to hear other people's stories. She will be missed by many. Graveside Inurnment services will be held Tuesday, July 19, 2011 at 10:00 A.M. at the Twin Falls Cemetery, Twin Falls, Idaho. All services and arrangements are under the direction of the Parke's Magic Valley Funeral Home & Crematory of Twin Falls, Idaho. Those wishing to share condolences may do so at www.magicvalleyfuneralhome.com.