After a long, hard-fought battle, David Wayne Linker, age 69, of Coffee Creek, Montana, passed away early Saturday morning, June 6, 2026 due to complications of Parkinson’s Disease.
David was born on October 16, 1956 in Freeport, Illinois to Wayne and Mina (Williams) Linker. He grew up on a traditional Midwest farm with Corn, Beans, Hogs and Dairy cows. He had a large, wonderful family in close proximity. He was a 1974 graduate of Chadwick High School where he was active in FFA. David worked at Bill’s Oil & Agriculture in Chadwick for many years and this is where he met his wife, Pam McIntosh. They got married November 29, 1986 in Denton, Montana.
David also fell in love with Montana and not long after getting married, Dave and Pam relocated to Denton, Montana in the fall of 1987. They bought and operated the Conoco gas station, renamed Linker Oil Company, until selling it in 2000. Dave spent hours delivering fuel all over Central Montana, making lots of friends and memories along the way. Dave and Pam seeded their first wheat crop in the fall of 1993, moving out to the farm where Pam was raised and taking over the farming operations from her parents.
From Catfish farming in Mississippi, Corn and Soybeans in Illinois and Wheat in Montana, David enjoyed everything about farming and equipment! He was one of the first people in the Central Montana area to try Peas and other pulse crops, No-till farming, and Disc drills. It was the beginning of several changes made over the past 30+ years to protect the soil health. In 2016 David started DBL Sales and Service with his son Brock. Together they sold and serviced K-Hart Disc drills all over Montana. For David it was an opportunity to visit with even more farmers in Montana, Canada, Australia and England. Many road trips to Canada were made to move drills and pick up parts from the K-Hart headquarters where he enjoyed time with Kim and Dolores Hartman.
David loved sharing the farm and Montana with all who came to visit. Harvest was David’s favorite time of year: we all have wonderful memories of harvest with family, friends from Illinois and friends of our kids over the years. Late night dinners on the deck and rattlesnakes under augers always made for fun days!
While there is always work to be done on the farm, Dave also knew how to have fun. He loved camping with friends and family, hiking in the badlands, and drinking cold beers with his buddies. He loved to attend his children’s events and was always their greatest fan! His loud belly laugh will be remembered by all who knew him for years to come. David loved all of the family dogs over the years and tolerated the cats and horses. David never gave up on planting trees on the farm. He was determined to have a forest and we enjoy all of his trees.
The silver lining of the last six months of David’s life is that he got to spend lots of quality time with each of his kids, with Natalie and Emily visiting as often as they could, and Brock seeing him almost every day.
David enjoyed spending time with his grandchildren, especially when they came out to the farm. He would take them for rides in just about anything–their favorite was the boom boom (skid steer) and mini-pickup. He got a kick out of watching them zip around the yard on their dirt bikes for the last year.
David was a life-long Methodist and served on the Central Ag Research Center Board. He was a member of the Denton Booster Club, Montana Grain Growers Association, and Central Montana Traildusters. He had no choice but to be a Montana State Bobcat fan and loved the Chicago Cubs.
It gave David great joy that Brock found an amazing woman in his wife Lynze, and only hoped that he could have seen them tie the knot in person!
David is survived by his wife, Pam of Coffee Creek, MT; daughters, Natalie Linker of Cape Coral, FL and Emily (Tyler) Hessler of Bozeman, MT; son, Brock (Lynze) Linker of Denton, MT; mother, Mina Linker of Freeport, IL; two grandchildren, Teddy & Ira Hessler of Bozeman, MT; brother, Doug (Jeanette) Linker of Lanark, IL; sisters, Penny (Tom) Ludwig of Lanark, IL and Patty (Denise) Eubanks of Schaumburg, IL; two sister-in-laws, MaryLynn Donnelly of Helena, MT and Pati (Fred) Jense of Helena, MT; and many wonderful nieces and nephews. David was preceded in death by his father, Wayne Linker and brother-in-law, Jack McIntosh.
A funeral will be held on June 22nd, 10:30 a.m. at the Denton Community United Methodist Church with a luncheon to follow at the Denton Town Hall. A Celebration of Life will take place in Illinois in July.
Memorials in David’s honor can be made to the Denton Community United Methodist Church; Central MT Hospice; Denton Community Foundation; Parkinson’s organizations; or organization of your choice.
To share condolences, click here to visit Creel Funeral Home website.
