Linda Grace Ralston, 86, of Fruita, Colorado, passed away peacefully on February 3, 2026, surrounded by her sisters in Christ. She was reunited in Heaven with her beloved husband of 65 years, Daniel Edward (Ed) Ralston, who preceded her in death on March 1, 2024.

Linda was the daughter of James M. Pike and Grace Elizabeth Pike. She was born in Atlanta and raised in Newnan, Georgia, and later Teaneck, New Jersey where her mother and grandfather owned a restaurant.

Linda was raised in the Methodist Church and while she admits that when she was younger, church “didn’t take,” she knew God was real since a time in 8th Grade when she and a friend were looking for 4-leaf clovers – for good luck – and noticed that each clover cluster in the patch was unique. She sensed God’s hand in creation “because they were all different.” The infinite variety impressed her and may have even prepared her for the multitude of experiences she would know in her lifetime.

A Believer since she and Ed were led to Christ in their mid-30’s while living in Missouri, both Linda and Ed were fascinated with the life of King David at least partly because he “messed up big time” and was forgiven and allowed to become known as a man after God’s own heart. Linda’s compassion was earthy and hands on and full of wisdom.

Linda began her professional life as an educator, substitute teaching in Pensacola, Florida, before teaching full-time in Indianapolis, Indiana, where she cherished her work with 5th and 6th graders. She enjoyed patrol, flag-raising, computer lab, working with autistic readers in the classroom but moved up to Middle School with her 6th graders. She found that dealing with 176 middle school students wasn’t to her liking so later in life she returned to school to earn her Bachelor of Nursing degree from Marion University in Indianapolis and discovered her true calling in hospice care.

Hospital work was exhausting but Linda loved community nursing where she could visit patients in their homes, focus her attention on each individual while often serving needs for the whole family, and share her love and expertise on a more personal level. She served as a hospice nurse for two years in Indianapolis and nearly 17 years with Hopewest in the Grand Valley, touching countless lives with her compassionate care. Even after retiring on December 31, 2017, she signed up as a Hopewest volunteer the very next week.

Linda was a woman of many interests—a pilot with an instrument rating, a history buff, a fabric store owner and a house flipping real estate tycoon after she and her friend Belinda took a real estate investing class and were the only two women in the class – and the only

two students who passed. After discovering the West in the mid-1980s, Linda and Ed made Fruita their home and became active members of Canyon View Vineyard Church, Faith Heights, Canyon West Church and later Monument View Bible Church, serving faithfully in the Food Bank, collecting produce from the City Market food recovery program and enriching many different Bible study groups.

A loyal friend who loved fiercely and a gifted caregiver, Linda reminded students in the Canyon West Church protégé’s class that "when you leave your parents’ home, know that your church family will be your family"—a truth she lived out fully. Linda was stubborn in her departure which gave her family and friends time to say goodbye. When asked by caregivers at the end, her visitors told the devoted Hopewest staff that, “nobody here’s related but we’re all family.”

She is survived by her brother, Jim Pike; nephew J.J. Pike and his two sons; her lifelong best friend of 50 years, Belinda (& Tom) Nicholas whom she met at the Bible Study many years ago in Greve Couer, Missouri and by dear friend Paul Nicholas who became like a son to her.

A “Sweet Memories of Linda” celebration will be held on March 1, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. at Monument View Bible Church. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Hopewest Hospice in honor of Linda's legacy of compassionate care.