Larry Adams posted this message today;

It's with great sadness that Les Lindell passed from covid at 3:10 am.
Rest In Peace my good friend. I for one will certainly miss you.

below is Les's obituary written by his daughters;

Leslie Meridith Lindell, 75, of Billings passed into eternal rest on August 23, 2021 after succumbing to lung issues due to COVID-19, while holding the hands of two of his daughters.  Les was born in Wauwatosa, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin on July 25, 1946 to John Alfred and LaVerne Myrtle (Fenner) Lindell.  He was the first of six boys.  

Les’ first seven years were spent honing his wild streak and charm on the family farm in Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin.  He lived among his grandparents, Walter and Elizabeth Fenner, and uncles, aunts, and cousins.  He was a rascal from the start, riding horses from a very young age, jumping out of grain silos, almost giving his Grandma a heart attack.  When six or seven years old, Les and his two cousins, Teddy and Robert, missed the school bus.  Les flagged down a trucker and convinced him to give the boys a ride to school, a trait which later served him well as an award-winning car salesman.  Cousin, Robert, was able to travel to Billings in May 2021 to visit Les.  The pair had not seen each other for 68 years but picked up where they left off, telling stories and laughing for over an hour.  Robert and Les discussed the time that Les saved Robert’s life.  The cousins, Teddy, Robert, and Les, were in the machine shed and Robert leaned against a post, grabbing ahold of a life electrical wire.  Shocked and unable to release his grip, Les tackled Robert and pulled the electrical wire from his hand.  Protecting and taking care of his brothers, friends, and children was a strong trait of this bear of a man.

While in Wisconsin, Les became a big brother to Larry, Rodney, and Johnnie Lindell.  The family moved to Billings in 1953 where John was a union carpenter and the boys were his sidekicks.  Here, the family would grow with two more boys, David and Lonnie.  Les attended Billings Public Schools – Washington, Orchard, Lincoln, and Senior High, graduating in 1965.  Les easily made friends and kept them for life.  

In November 1965, he enlisted into the Navy Reserve and was sent to school in Great Lakes, Illinois.  He was discharged in March 1966.  Les was recommended for reenlistment and entered the Naval Reserve for a second term in July 1966.  He served on the USS Ponchatoula during the Vietnam War as an ordinance mechanic.  He was awarded the National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Metal with one bronze star, and the Vietnam Campaign Medal.  He was discharged on September 21, 1968, ranked as an E-5.  Early on, Les received a disciplinary write-up for his sloppy appearance, something he corrected at that moment.  Forever after, he was known for his impeccable dress attire;  he accumulated an extensive silk tie and shoe collection - pressed, polished and ready to go out on the town at any given moment.

Les returned home and quickly went to work in the oil fields in North Dakota and Texas.  After a few months, he quit his job and hitch-hiked around the United States for about 6-months before returning home in the Winter of 1969.  Bonita (Bonnie) Raitt caught Les’ eye and the pair wed in March 1970.  Two daughters followed, Brandi and Kristi.  Dr. Grant Raitt, Les’ father-in-law, procured a job for Les at Frontier Chevrolet as a salesman.  This was the beginning of a life-long career in car sales.  Les was extremely bright and excelled in sales.  He quickly became the top sales rep, winning many awards, trips, and high regard in the industry.  Les and Bonita’s marriage ended in divorce.

Les met and married Marilyn Schmidt in 1978.  Four children followed, Leslie Chason (Chase), Jared, Brittany, and Luke. This union ended in divorce.

In 1987, Les opened Lindell Auto Sales on the corner of Broadwater and Division.  Eventually working with his brother Johnnie, on the Montana Avenue lot.  October 1989, Les was stabbed while trying to repossess one of his vehicles.  He had numerous surgeries and was very sick.  Life looked grim for Les.  The family always joked that Les used five of his nine lives fighting through this.  Les was a formidable fighter and won many fights and brawls in his younger years.  He was hit by a car, shot by a gun, and the list goes on.  Eventually, he’d used up all nine of his lives and had borrowed from someone else.  Les had a will to live that was like no other.

August 20, 2010, while golfing with his brothers in Wyoming, Les had a stroke.  He fought his way through it only to have a second, more massive stroke.  He could not walk or feed himself.  He received amazing care in the VA hospital in Denver for six weeks.  After hearing that his daughter was coming to Denver to take him home, Les stayed up all night learning how to walk again.  His doctors and nurses scolded him but Les just flashed his determined smile and kept walking.  The next morning, when Kristi arrived, she was shocked to see him walking along the wall, holding the handrail.  He was told he would never walk again but he showed them!  Although he learned to walk and feed himself again, he was never the same.  He tried to paint but struggled; he disliked everything he painted.  His memory and ability to care for himself were substantially hindered.  Les had a way about him that seemed to never give up or get him down, even if he got himself into a mess.

Les loved big.  He cared for his parents well.  He sat with his mother as she was passing, and he looked after his father when he could no longer do for himself.  His brothers also held a special spot in his heart.  Playing sports with them, helping, and protecting them when needed.  His children were always cherished and often bragged about to everyone who would listen;  and his friends could always count on him – many he had since childhood such as Larry Adams.  Besides being charismatic and highly social, Les enjoyed playing and watching baseball, football, and golf.  He took all of his children hunting and taught them Cribbage and golf.  He had a beautiful, silky voice which delighted his family when he sang Golden Oldies.  He enjoyed watching classic movies and Westerns with his children.  He appreciated photography, horseback riding, classic cars, cowboy boots and hats, and traveling around Montana, especially to the Pryor Mountains and Red Lodge where he once owned the Carbon County Coal Company with his brothers.  

Watercolor painting, however, was his passion and self-care.  He was self-taught and incredibly talented.  It was pure delight to watch him teach watercolor classes to all ages at Michael’s and Q’s Art Shop.  For a man who wasn’t known for his abundance of patience, he was an amazing art teacher.  Les enjoyed having his artwork displayed in many local businesses and art galleries around Billings.  Interestingly, Les was colorblind; he often asked his children if his socks matched!  This disability did not hinder his artistic endeavors, it just forced him to be incredibly organized on his paint pallet and more determined.

Les was proceeded in death by his parents John and LaVerne Lindell; his adolescent son, Chase; son-in-law Michael F. Elliott; grandson Bobby Budell; and two nephews, Trevor and Tyler Lindell.

Survivors include his five brothers: Larry of Billings, Rodney of Park City, Johnny (Heather) of Laurel, David of Billings, and Lonnie (Patricia) Lindell of Cheyenne, WY., his five children: Brandi (Jesse) Budell of Pompey’s Pillar, Kristi Elliott of Billings, Jared Lindell of West Yellowstone, Brittany Lindell of Billings, and Luke Lindell of Nashville, TN, and ten grandchildren: Cody Boehm, Taylor Rae Seal, Briann Stone, Christian and Cade Budell, Brenner and Isabella Elliott, Augustus McConnell, Jesse Budell, and Amanda (Daniel) Edwards, plus lots of nieces and nephews that he loved dearly.

Dad,
It’s hard to say good-bye to someone who was always there at the drop of a hat to help, support, or encourage us.  You really were bigger than life and seemed to be able to solve any problem, without question.  We never wondered if you loved us because you said it every time you saw us, complete with a big bear hug.  The past 11 years took so much of you away from us.  Your grandchildren didn’t get to know you as we’d have liked.  It was our honor to hold your hand as you took your last breath in this world.  Your love for us will live on forever.  May you finally rest in peace.  We know you didn’t do everything right, but you did the best you knew how and for that, we all love you dearly.

Special thanks to St. Vincent’s COVID unit doctors and nurses for taking care of Les, patiently and thoroughly explaining to us what was happening in a way that helped it all make sense.  Thank you to AVANTARA of Billings for caring for Les for the past few years in the memory care unit.  And finally, to Cremation and Funeral Gallery for taking care of his funeral arrangements.

Cremation has taken place.  A Celebration of Life will be conducted at the Cremation and Funeral Gallery, 29 8th St. W., Billings, MT on September 7, 2021 at 9:30 AM.  If you are not able to attend the service in person, please view a Live Stream of the Celebration of Life by going to cfgbillings.com, click on Les’ obituary and follow the link.  Graveside burial and military honors will follow at Yellowstone National Veteran’s Cemetery, 55 Buffalo Trail Road, Laurel, MT, followed by a lunch reception at 12:00 PM at the Elks Lodge, 934 Lewis Avenue, Billings, MT.  
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Les Lindell: Montana Artist
By Kristi Lindell-Elliott
First published in City Magazine, September 2006 (Adapted)

My father, Les Lindell, spent a great deal of my childhood in his art studio in the basement.  He was busy creating masterpieces of whatever, I thought.  He would often sit my sister Brandi and me down at the kitchen table and prep us for creating our own masterpieces;  however, he often held the paintbrush more than we did from beginning until completion.  At the time, I did not understand that he not only wanted to pass his passion for painting on to us, he wanted to show us Montana – a place he loved – as he saw it.  

I was eternally frustrated at the time.  I wanted to paint flowers and use bright colors.  I wanted to be abstract while he was teaching us to paint realistic and pay attention to detail.  I didn’t fully appreciate his work until I became an adult.  If I were to line all of my father’s paintings up, I would see one recurring theme: Montana as he saw it.  He loved the vibrant colors of Autumn, ice over winter creeks, and fields of wildflowers in the Spring.  

My father grew up riding horses, hunting for food, and being taken to the Lindell Homestead near Myers, Montana.  When I was twenty-three, I too was taken to the Homestead.  It was then, walking in that tiny, dilapidated log cabin, resting my arms on the kitchen windowsill and looking out, that I saw Montana as my father did.  There in front of me was so many of his paintings…old silvery aspen trees, slow trickling streams, tall swaying grasses, old and worn log buildings, and a beauty created with a dab of Hooker’s Green, Burnt sienna, and Yellow Ochre, with a hint of Payne’s Gray.

“Boots,” one of his rare oil paintings, is of a real Montana cowboy’s footwear, worn in and comfortable.  Having traveled down many roads, and rode many horses.  If those boots could talk, the stories that they would tell.  

His paintings of log cabins or old barns are captured moments of Montana’s past – his family’s past.  His paintings of ice-covered streams, snow caped mountains, or silvery clustered aspens are scenes that Montanans grow to love and appreciate.

Often, as I am driving toward a Billings sunset, I get lost in the colors of the sky.  I knew those colors – Alizarin Crimson, Ultramarine or Cobalt Blue – long before I really looked at a sunset.  Through his work, my father gave those sunsets to me years before I would grow to love and appreciate them.  

My father was a well-loved watercolor teacher.  He watched as we developed our own way style and passion for painting, fostered by his love of it.  If you look closely at our work, you will see a bit of our father in each picture – something that we will both cherish for a lifetime.  

So, if you want to see Les Lindell’s Montana, just gaze at one of his paintings and get lost somewhere in Montana!