Linda Johnston

Linda Durham Johnston passed away peacefully surrounded by her family on Thanksgiving, Nov. 24, 2016, in Plano, Texas. Her given name was Jessie Malinda Durham, but family and friends knew her as Linda and business associates as Malinda.

Linda, 85, was preceded in death in 2006 by her husband of 52 years, James Henry Johnston Jr., as well as her parents, James Truett and Josephine Tucker Durham. She is survived by her daughters Malinda Jo Johnston of Plano, Texas, Eloise Faye Johnston of Fort Smith, Ark., and Sarah Elaine Durham of Plano. She also is survived by her grandsons, Alexander Truett Widman and Colton Michael Widman, who following her family’s tradition loved her as “Mamaw.”

Linda was the founder and former president of the Lake City Craft Company, the largest manufacturer of quilling supplies, books and tools. She started the company in 1974 after taking a class in the craft that involves rolls, scrolls and swirls of paper strips. During her career she published more than a dozen books, including the quintessential “The Art of Paper Quilling,” which Lark Publishing translated into several languages and sold around the world. She frequently collaborated with Martha Stewart’s craft business, which featured her work in the Martha Stewart Living magazine.

Linda and Jim traveled through North and Central America and Europe in support of her business, which her husband joined after retirement. They were active in The Quilling Guild of the United Kingdom and instrumental in forming the North American Quilling Guild. In 2002 they sold their business and two years later moved to Plano to be closer to their grandchildren.

Linda was born on August 5, 1931, in Russellville, Ark. Decades later she learned that her birth certificate actually said August 4, and she vaguely recalled that her mother said the hospital got it wrong. Throughout her life she celebrated on August 5. However, Medicare insisted on the “official” date, causing no end of headaches for her and her family over time.

As an only child, she and her parents moved throughout Arkansas following her father’s work as an engineer with the Arkansas Highway Department. They settled in DeQueen, Ark., when she started school. During World War II the family moved to Fort Smith and Little Rock as her father was charged with construction of military bases. After the war they returned to DeQueen where Linda graduated from high school.

At the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, Linda was a member of Delta Delta Delta Sorority. She received a Bachelor of Science degree and was accepted at the University of Kansas Medical School for a dietetic internship graduate program. However, she was known to say that “thank goodness your dad proposed before I went,” and admitted she never really wanted to work as a registered dietician. It just paid better than most careers open for women at the time. As a result of what she saw as a lack of career choices, she made sure that her three daughters were never limited in their aspirations.

Linda met Jim at college and in 1953 they married and lived in Indianapolis and Fort Hood, Texas, during his military service. In 1955 they moved to Little Rock, Ark., where Jim started his career with Southwestern Bell Telephone Co. Their family grew with the births of three daughters, and they subsequently moved with Jim’s job promotions to Hot Springs, Ark., Galveston and Houston, Texas, back to Little Rock and then Kansas City, Mo., where Linda started her craft manufacturing business.

Throughout the moves, Linda was involved in her children’s lives, serving as a Girl Scout leader and Sunday School teacher. She and Jim served on the local Young Life committee and led fundraising for the Christian organization. When her daughter Elaine’s school didn’t have a girls’ track team, she fought the school board for one. When their social club refused to admit minorities, they left, quietly living their values.

She enjoyed summer vacations camping and backpacking throughout the Rocky Mountains and hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon (and back up) with her daughter Eloise.

After Jim’s early retirement, Linda and Jim moved to Highlandville, Mo., building an earth-bermed house with an expansive view of the Ozark Mountains. In addition to running Linda’s business and traveling extensively, they enjoyed hosting friends and attending Arkansas Razorback football games. Linda cultivated a large garden and was active with Jim in the community and their church.

Following their move to Plano and Jim’s death two years later, Linda enjoyed gardening and traveling with her daughters. She made road trips across the country and rafted down the Rio Grande, rented an apartment in Paris for a month and took a 45-day cruise to Europe.

Linda will be remembered for her love of her husband, unconditional support of her children and grandchildren, love of travel and combination of creativity and business acumen.

Her family also wishes to thank the wonderful caregivers at Prestonwood Court and Envoy Hospice for helping her cope with the effects of Alzheimer’s disease and for making her last months comfortable.

The family will hold a visitation and reception to celebrate Linda’s life from 6 to 8 pm on Sunday, Nov. 27, at Ted Dickey West Funder Home, 7990 President George Bush Turnpike, Dallas. Burial will be Monday morning, Nov. 28, at the Dallas Fort Worth National Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to Kansas City Metro Young Life, online at kcmetro.younglife.org or by mailing a check with AG377 in the memo line to Young Life, P.O. Box 70065, Prescott AZ 86304-7065.

Arrangements under the direction of Ted Dickey West Funeral Home, Dallas, TX.