Remembrance of Ian Lindquist: Making Room for God

‘Daddy is sick.” That is what Cecelia, the two-year-old daughter of Ian and Kelly Lindquist, told me and my wife when we came to visit them at their home in May of last year. Even at that age, Cecilia grasped the meaning of her father’s absence and felt obligated to explain it to us as well. We spent the better part of the afternoon playing with the Lindquist children in their backyard, to assist Ian’s parents, who had effectively moved in while Kelly, pregnant with her and Ian’s seventh, attended to her husband in the hospital. As the afternoon stretched toward evening, the children assembled together as a chorus on the back patio to sing for us “Black and Red” from the musical Les Misérables, which they had adapted into a new song about their father’s heroic battle against cancer.

Ian was already several months into his fight against an aggressive form of leukemia, which proved ultimately fatal. Chemotherapy, a bone-marrow transplant, and a clinical trial did not stop him from going home to the Lord on May 5, 2022. He was 35 years old and is survived by his wife, Kelly, and by their seven small children — Benedict, Sophia, Abigail, Evelyn, Theodora, Cecilia, and Victoria. My wife and I had the privilege of attending three of their baptisms.

JH

About the Author

Josh Holdenried

Josh Holdenried is a writer on American history and political thought. He holds an M.A. in Government from Hillsdale College.

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‘Daddy is sick.” That is what Cecelia, the two-year-old daughter of Ian and Kelly Lindquist, told me and my wife when we came to visit them at their home in May of last year. Even at that age, Cecilia grasped the meaning of her father’s absence and felt obligated to explain it to us as well. We spent the better part of the afternoon playing with the Lindquist children in their backyard, to assist Ian’s parents, who had effectively moved in while Kelly, pregnant with her and Ian’s seventh, attended to her husband in the hospital. As the afternoon stretched toward evening, the children assembled together as a chorus on the back patio to sing for us “Black and Red” from the musical Les Misérables, which they had adapted into a new song about their father’s heroic battle against cancer.

Ian was already several months into his fight against an aggressive form of leukemia, which proved ultimately fatal. Chemotherapy, a bone-marrow transplant, and a clinical trial did not stop him from going home to the Lord on May 5, 2022. He was 35 years old and is survived by his wife, Kelly, and by their seven small children — Benedict, Sophia, Abigail, Evelyn, Theodora, Cecilia, and Victoria. My wife and I had the privilege of attending three of their baptisms.