Funeral services will be 10am, Saturday, February 14, 2026, at Fiksdal Funeral Service. Per Linda’s request, please come as you are! (Blue jeans and casual attire!)

Visitation will be 5-7pm Friday, February 13, 2026, closing with a 7pm prayer service at the funeral home.

Linda was born at Peabody Hospital in Webster, SD, on June 5, 1952, to Arnold and Lydia (Johnson) McCarlson. Linda was raised on the farm near rural Roslyn, SD, with her parents and her brothers Jerome, Paul, David, and Randy and her sister, Ann. Linda was a lifelong member of Tabor Lutheran Church. She attended Webster High School until her senior year in 1970 where she moved with her family to Eagle Butte, SD, andgraduated from Cheyenne Eagle Butte High School. Following graduation, Linda began waitressing at the Bass Beach Resort on Pickeral Lake where she met the love of her life, Donald “Jerry” McCreary. Linda and Don were united in marriage on March 10, 1972, in Webster, SD. From this union, they were blessed with two children: Michael and Wendy. Linda and Don settled in South Sioux City, NE, until 1988 when they moved to their farm in Langford, SD. They were married for 43 years before Don’s passing in 2015. They spent many happy years together on the farm.

Throughout her life, Linda loved working and being active. While in NE, Linda worked at IBP as a meat processor. When she moved back to SD, she worked at Dacotah sewing and quilting, and then at Coyne’s Meat Market. She was most proud of earning her CNA license, providing longterm care at several area nursing homes. Linda dedicated her life to taking care of people for over 30 years, including family and friends, when needed. She taught Sunday School, helped with Ladies Circle, was a Cub Scout Leader and Girl Scout Leader, enjoyed bowling, playing bingo, gardening, sewing quilts, cooking and baking, going to demolition derbies and stock car races, spending time with family and friends, and working on the farm with Don. Linda also loved to go to rummage sales. If you knew Linda, her ability to find things at a rummage sale was only second to how much she loved to give to her family and friends.

Above all, Linda cherished spending time with her family. She was so proud of her children and their families, always sharing about her grandchildren and their many accomplishments. She also adored the time she spent with her great-grandson, Kamden, their daily phone calls, and was looking forward to the birth of her second great-grandson. Linda was the right mix of sweet and sassy and was loved by everyone who knew her. Her home was a place of laughter and love, with an open-door policy for all. She will be remembered as a loving wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, and friend who always cared for others before herself.

Linda is survived by her son Michael (Cheryl) McCreary of Webster, SD, and her daughter, Wendy (Brendan) Streitz of Flandreau, SD, her grandchildren Jobi (David) Weidler, Evan McCreary, Jaiden McCreary, Jeron McCreary, Liam Streitz, Abe Streitz, and Rona Streitz, and great-grandson Kamden Weidler, siblings Paul (Barb) McCarlson, Ann (Bob) Rowe, David (Cheryl) McCarlson, and Randy (Carol) McCarlson, sisters-in-law Jean (Tom) Lynch and Carolyn (Dan) Viers, brother-in-law DeWayne Syhre, and many cousins, nieces, and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, Arnold and Lydia, her husband, Don, her brother, Jerome, and sisters-in-law Darlene (Dolly) McCarlson and Elise McCarlson.