TURLOCK, CA (December 5, 2003) – TURLOCK, CA (December 5) – A memorial service will be conducted at 2 p.m. next Tuesday at Turlock Covenant Church for Wally Lindskoog, who died Wednesday in the Brandel Care Center at Covenant Village of Turlock. Turlock Covenant’s pastor Jeff Woods will officiate.
The 86-year-old Lindskoog was a successful cattle breeder and his Arlinda Holsteins business was known throughout the country. In Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC) circles, however, it was Lindskoog’s generosity (and that of his wife, Arlene) that was most beloved. A major gift came just two years ago when he gave his 65-acre ranch and 400 head of cattle to the denomination for ministry purposes. Numerous donations have been made over the years, most coming from royalties generated by the sale of semen from breeding bulls.
Born in Iowa, Lindskoog moved to central California as a child and stayed in that region his entire life, living on the land where his future dairy company would be founded. His skill in the dairy and business was evident early on – he competed in a Future Farmers of America project and was the state’s runner up in a dairy-judging contest. Encouraged by his mother, he was awarded a state farmer degree in 1932 at age 15. Seven years later he married his high school sweetheart, Arlene, and they combined talents and their names as Arlinda Holsteins, which had begun in January 1938. The business became one of the most successful cattle industries in the country, but it wasn’t always that way, as he noted during a speech to businesspersons three years ago.As he would often tell the story, Lindskoog got advice from a farm advisor and an agricultural professor to help him improve the breeding of his animals. However, the advice didn’t work. “I almost bred myself out of the business . . . this expensive failure caused me to become so discouraged I came very close to quitting the dairy business,” Lindskoog recalled. “But God had put such a consuming love for cattle within me that I couldn’t quit.”
Thankfully, the acquisition of a different type of cattle and a consistent breeding philosophy resulted in major success for Arlinda Holsteins. For five decades that success enabled Lindskoog to use half of his earnings for the betterment of God’s Kingdom. He said (borrowing a phrase from noted author Chuck Swindoll), “I am convinced that life is 10 percent what happens to me and 90 percent how I react to it.”
In recalling the key influences on his life, he cited a strong family, a childhood friend’s unexpected death and a promise to God that kept him always focused on His Christian walk. In the midst of an attack of appendicitis during early adolescence, Lindskoog said, “I bargained with God and promised Him if he saved my life and gave my health back, I would be a clergyman or missionary or a teacher in a Christian school or if He let me stay on the farm, I would try to be a man of great integrity as a cattle breeder . . . “
LeRoy Johnson, president emeritus of Covenant Trust Company, remembers the story of Lindskoog’s bargain this way. “When Wally was 14 years of age and critically ill, he made a promise to God that he would give 50 percent of what he made and what he was worth to the Kingdom. Among the many great accomplishments of his life, he also fulfilled that promise. Wally was one of the most interesting and generous persons I have ever known.”
“Wally Lindskoog was a lively, energetic, creative man, deeply devoted to his Lord,” said President Glenn Palmberg upon learning of Wally’s death. “God gave him exceptional gifts as a cattle breeder and businessman. Wally exercised those gifts to the fullest and was exceedingly generous in giving back to the Lord of the gains that came to him. The impact of his stewardship in and through the Covenant Church will be felt for years to come. It has been a joy and a privilege for me to come to know Wally and Arlene as friends, and I thank God for them both. My prayers and those of many other Covenanters are with Arlene and their family as they grieve Wally’s passing and celebrate his life.”
Turlock Covenant Church is located at 316 S. Laurel Avenue in Turlock. For more information about the memorial service, call the church at 209-667-1191, extension 301. Additional information also will be posted to this Covenant news report as it becomes available.
Editor’s note: to read the full text of a feature article on Wally Lindskoog that appeared in the May 2002 issue of The Covenant Companion, read A Raw-Boned Man With a Heart of Gold
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