Renae Lyn Burgess passed peacefully at Peace Hospice on March 27, 2025, from complications of COPD. She defied the odds when she was born to Mack Emett and Norma Jean Burgess on April 24, 1959, in Great Falls, Montana, weighing only 3 lbs. and survived. Renae was the fourth child and third daughter in a family of seven children. She was born with a congenital hip which prevented her from walking until she was almost three. She then had to have surgery to break her hip and then put it back together correctly. She lived her next two years in body casts and braces.
Her family moved to a ranch outside of Simms when she was a young teenager where she excelled at becoming a cowgirl and ranch hand. She often commented that her fondest memories were from that time in her life. She graduated from Simms High and went on to Rick’s College (now BYU Idaho) in Rexburg, ID.
Renae worked at various jobs: CNA working at the hospital and home care, a cook at several restaurants, sales, and a dispatcher at Americana Expressways. It was there she met her husband, Richard Linn, who drove a truck for the same company. They were married in April 1988. At that point, she packed up and went on the road with Rick. Later she and Rick ran a dispatch office out of Nevada. They eventually settled in the Coeur d’Alene, ID area where Rick continued to drive truck while Renae stayed at home and raised her three children: Nicolas, Nicole, and Nathan.
Renae’s favorite activities were camping and riding horses. She was accomplished at both. In later years when her health would not allow it, she became an enthusiastic genealogist. She found many of her ancestors and found ancestors of many friends. Renae loved to sew and craft, mostly craft. She scoured thrift stores and garage sales looking for “treasures.” When she purchased anything, it was at a great bargain and would purchase at least a dozen of the item. She also self admittedly suffered from OCD – not in the normal sense but meaning Overdoing Christmas Disorder. She possessed tons of Christmas decorations and craft supplies, especially anything having to do with The Nutcracker.
Renae was known for her exuberant friendly nature and her boisterous laugh. Also known for being a “mama bear,” she loved her family completely and fiercely. Much of her life revolved around her grandchildren taking care of them even when she was disabled.
After 35 years of marriage, she and Rick separated, and Renae moved home to Great Falls. She lived in the family home for a brief time and then moved into The Lodge in May 2024 with her mother. She helped care for her mother until Norma passed away in September 2024.
She is survived by her husband, Richard Linn, sons, Nicolas Linn and Nathan (Maddy) Linn all of Coeur d’Alene, ID, grandchildren: Grayson, Landry, Lilah Mae, Ava Grace, Avery, and Emett, Also surviving are her sisters, Denice (Bruce) Mills of Great Falls MT, and Nanette (Bill) Hjelm of Heber, UT and her brothers, Stan (Jamie) LeyMarr Burgess of Nome, AL and Merlin Middlerider of Heart Butte, MT and numerous nieces and nephews and great nieces and nephews.
She is preceded in death by her daughter Nicole Jean Linn who passed away in November 2020, her father and mother, Mack Emett and Norma Jean Burgess, and two brothers who died in infancy, Mark Emett and Mack Emett II.
To read the complete obituary and share condolences, click here to visit the Croxford Funeral Home website.
