Wife of man who died during the derecho says she is ready to tell his story

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) - “He’s a good guy. Very good. Good morals. I miss him a lot.”

That’s Linda Rowland, reflecting five years later on the life of her late husband, Tom Rowland.

Tom died while biking on the Cedar Valley Nature Trail near Ely on August 10, 2020, the day of the derecho. Linda sat down with TV9 recently to tell Tom’s story.

“He died doing what he loved and I don’t picture him arguing a bit,” she said.

Tom Rowland loved riding his bike, but his Catholic faith went even deeper.

“How could I not love somebody that loved his faith so much. That was so attractive to me,” Linda Rowland said.

Sunday will mark five years since she lost her soulmate. They had been married 38 years.

“He would have said, ‘Yea, let’s go. I’m ready.’ He wouldn’t have fought it at all,” Linda