Marianne Linane, former diocesan respect life director and member of St. John Church in Hot Springs, died June 26. She was 81.
She was born the second of eight children Sept. 10, 1942, in Chicago to Thomas Earl “Red” and Lucille Linane. She graduated from Our Lady of Mercy Girls School in Detroit, Mich., in 1960. She continued her education, graduating from St. Mary of Nazareth Hospital School of Nursing in Chicago in 1963, the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1973 with a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences and a bachelor’s degre in chemistry; and the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville with a master’s degree in urban horticulture and landscape design in 1990.
She worked mostly as an ICU nurse but also owned and operated a landscaping business in Arkansas. She worked as a legislative assistant for three years and executive secretary for two years for the Wisconsin Right to Life in Milwaukee, teaching science part-time at Mercy Academy in Milwaukee to fifth and eighth-grade students.
As a proud pro-lifer, she held numerous volunteer positions, including executive director for the National Association of Pro-life Nurses, board president of Wisconsin Right to Life and president of the Milwaukee Chapter of Wisconsin Right to Life. She formed the Benton County chapter of Arkansas Right to Life in 1988 and the Northwest Arkansas Catholic Respect Life Council.
In November 2006, she joined the Diocese of Little Rock as the director of the Respect Life Office and retired in 2013. She implemented the U.S. bishops’ Pastoral Plan for Pro-Life Activities.
She is survived by three brothers, Tom Linane, Jerry Linane and Mike Linane; three sisters, Kathy Kunst, Noreen Linane and Peggy Nystrom.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Fred Johnson; her parents; and one sister, Ginger Cullen.
Memorials can be made to the diocesan Respect Life Office, 2500 N. Tyler St., Little Rock, AR 72207 or Garvan Woodland Gardens in Hot Springs.
