Darleen Emma Lindquist

Darleen Emma Lindquist was 83 years old when she quietly passed away on June 10, 2025 after a hard-fought battle with dementia. She departed from her earthly life with her children close by at the Dolce Vita Assisted Living Home and is together again with her husband, Larry. She had been in Hospice Care since October 2024. Her loss is deeply felt by her entire family and many friends.
She was a selfless, energetic, hard-working, industrious, fearless force of nature with a heart of gold. She strived to never miss a loved one’s birthday.
Darleen was born in Beulah, North Dakota on September 7, 1941, to Rudolf and Emma (Horning) Kruckenberg where she was the 7th child of the eventual 14 children. She grew up on a ranch in Stanton, North Dakota on the Missouri River where she loved to ride horses and climb hills. At the age of 17, Darleen moved to Bismark, North Dakota, where she worked as a nurse’s aide for 1-1/2 years before moving to Minneapolis, Minnesota. While working as a receptionist, Darleen met her future husband, Larry, on a double date in Minneapolis. They were married on October 22, 1961, had 3 children, 3 grandchildren and were married 62 years until his passing in 2024.
In 1969, Darleen and Larry moved to the small rural town of Braham, Minnesota, where they lived on Larry’s 150-acre childhood farm until 1991.
While in Braham, she was extremely active with family activities including river fishing, bowling and golfing. Darleen was an extraordinary cook making everything from scratch whether it was bread, ravioli, sauces, or traditional German and Swedish dishes. She maintained a large garden and canned every-thing that could be. Darleen ‘s passion was her children. She supported all their extracurricular endeavors – volleyball, gymnastics, wrestling, golf, choir, and band - never missing a game, match, meet or concert.
She lived in Minnesota until 1991 where she worked at several companies finishing with Caterpillar.
She and Larry then moved to Arizona for a career opportunity for Larry. In Arizona, Darleen worked as an Administrative Assistant at Orbital Sciences Corporation and retired from Motorola. She loved golfing and hiking in Arizona. She was an avid supporter of her grandchildren’s endeavors in academics, volleyball and gymnastics. She was one of their biggest cheerleaders.
Darleen is survived by her children who thought the world of her - Vicki Rowan, Valerie Lindquist and Vincent Lindquist; 3 grandchildren – Sydney, EmmaJean and Griffin Rowan; her brother Rudy; sisters Judy (Quintin) Ziemann, Joyce (Loren) Spurzem, Carrie (John) Hart; sister-in-law Josie Kruckenberg; brother-in-law Pete Sayler; and many nieces, nephews, and cousins.
She is preceded in death by her husband, Larry; parents Rudolph and Emma Kruckenberg; her siblings Norman, Velma (Young), Orland, Glenn, Ronald, Morris, Delwin, Jerry and Sandra (Sayler); and several well-loved aunts, uncles and in-laws.
We want to send a heart-felt “Thank You” to those family members and friends that visited her the last couple of years. Even though she may not have remembered how you fit into her life, it meant the world to her, and she loved and thrived on social interaction.
The family respected her wishes, so there were no services. She donated her body to science so she could hopefully help advance medical research for others.