March 11, 2010

Linda Elaine (Maier) Thomason

Linda Elaine (Maier) Thomason died Tuesday, March 2, 2010, surrounded by family and friends at her daughter’s home, from complications of congestive heart failure.

She was born Sept. 1, 1945, in Spokane, to Reuben and Gloria Maier. She was raised in Ritzville and attended school in Ritzville. After graduating high school in 1963, she attended college at the University of Arkansas in Fort Smith.

While in Arkansas, she met Tom Thomason, who was stationed at Fort Smith. They found they had a lot in common and had both been raised in the Northwest, about 200 miles from each other. They fell in love and were married on Oct. 26, 1964, at Vancouver, Wash.

They had a son, Byron, in 1965, while living in Portland, Ore. Shortly after, they moved to Lewiston and in 1966 had a daughter, Julie. In the late 1970s, Tom and Linda and their two children moved to Winchester, where she remained until her death.

She loved reading, metal detecting and gold panning. She had several jobs throughout her life. Most recently she was a substitute for the Winchester City Library and also for the Winchester City Hall.

She was preceded in death by her father, Reuben Maier, and is survived by her husband, Tom, at their home in Winchester; her mother, Gloria, and sister, Valerie Maier, of Ritzville; brother, Steve and Sandy Maier of Kennewick; her children, Byron and Charlene Thomason and Julie and Chad Erickson; grandchildren, Hailey Thomason and her fiancée Matt Anderson, Chelsey and Ryley Thomason and Andy and Jacob Erickson; and one great-grandchild, Alana Erickson, all of Lewiston. She is also survived by her best friend, Diane Marshall of Winchester, as well as numerous brothers- and sisters-in-law, nieces and nephews.

A memorial service was held Monday, March 8, at Vassar-Rawls Funeral Home in Lewiston.