Linda “Haruko” Bengtson, age 95 of Cherokee, Iowa, passed away on Tuesday, July 26, 2022 at The Gardens in Cherokee, Iowa with her daughters by her side.  Funeral services for Linda will be held on Monday, August 1, 2022, at 10:30 A.M., at the First United Methodist Church in Aurelia, Iowa with Pastor Linda Morris officiating.  Visitation will be on Sunday, July 31, 2022 from 2:00-5:00, with the family present, at the First United Methodist Church.  Redig Funeral Home is assisting the family with arrangements.

Linda “Haruko” (Mita) Bengtson was born on March 20, 1927, in Hiroshima, Japan.  She was the daughter of Iwakichi and Fusa Mita.  Linda was one of six sisters and two brothers.  Her family was very religious.  They practiced the Shinto religion and had a shrine in their home.  She learned a valuable lesson from her father.  He told her to “treat people well….you are no better than anyone else.  Remember that always.”  Linda lived by those words daily.  She was the kindest and most caring person to everyone.  Linda grew up in Hiroshima. Her and her family survived the atomic bomb that hit Hiroshima on August 6, 1945.   This historical event changed her and her family’s life forever.

Linda’s parents owned a retail grocery store where she worked as a cashier.  She also was a seamstress at a factory in Hiroshima.  This is where she became to love sewing.   Later, she became a cashier at the Naval Base in Iwakuni, Japan.  This is where she learned English and was given the name “Linda” by the base commander so the soldiers could remember and pronounce her name.  Linda worked there for several years as a cashier when she met Robert “Bob” Bengtson, who was stationed there.  They were united in marriage on November 4, 1958, at the Japanese Consulate in Fukuoka, Japan.  To this union three daughters were born Janet, Rhonda and Lisa.  Bob, Linda and Janet flew to the United States in 1960.  They came to Aurelia, Iowa where they remained for many years.  Linda became a US Citizen in 1964.  She loved Aurelia and became well known for her skills as a seamstress and a daycare provider.  She cared for many children in the community out of her home for many years.  There were a few families that she cared for over a few generations.  She loved every single child she cared for.  She sewed for others and always made her daughter’s clothing and their doll clothes.  Her three daughters always had matching outfits.  Linda was a great cook and was famous for her fried rice and banana bread.  She enjoyed sewing, traveling on vacations with her family and having coffee daily with neighbors and close friends.  The loves of her life were her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

In 2016, Bob and Linda moved to The Gardens in Cherokee, Iowa.  When Bob passed later that year on November 22, Linda remained there and became to truly love her new home.  She enjoyed and participated in all the daily activities with Bingo being her favorite one.  The staff and residents became her second family whom she loved very much.  She will always be remembered for her bright smiles and hugs by everyone!

Linda died Tuesday, July 26, 2022 at The Gardens in Cherokee where she was a resident.

Preceding Linda in death were her husband Bob, her parents, two brothers, three sisters, her in-laws Clifford and Lenora Bengtson, an infant brother-in-law Dennis Bengtson, sisters-in-law Darlene Moss and Carolyn and her husband Gary Catania.

Linda is survived by her three daughters, Janet McCarthy of Sioux City, Rhonda Jensen and special friend Cam Hatch of Cherokee, and Lisa Benson and her husband Chad of Cedar Falls and five grandchildren, Ryan McCarthy, Tyler Benson, Jennifer Jensen, Halle Benson, and Trevor Benson, two great-grandchildren, Maddison and Brody, two sisters, and one brother-in-law Frank Moss of Sioux City.