Colleen Faith (Weinand) Aberle, 72
Colleen Faith (Weinand) Aberle, 72, passed away at her home in Deer Park, Wash., on Oct. 4, 2008.
A graveside funeral service and interment will be held at 1 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 9, 2008, in Deer Park at Woodland Cemetery, W. 5410 Monroe Road with Pastor Rick McCombs officiating.
Colleen was born on May 19, 1936, to Frank and Cora (Olson) Weinand in Ray, Williams County, N.D. Her brother Jim was 3 at the time.
The family moved to Sandpoint, Idaho, around 1939-1940. She graduated Sandpoint High School in 1954. Colleen lived in Sandpoint for 33 years. She went to Portland, Ore., for one year to take the licensed practical nurse course at the Portland Medical Center.
On Sept. 15, 1963, she married Duane Paul Aberle. They had a dairy farm north of Sandpoint for six years. Daughter Heidi Ann was born while on this dairy farm.
The family moved to a dairy farm in Deer Park in 1969. They named their family farm Happy Hills and, indeed it was, for their whole extended family. Nieces and nephews have fond memories of weeks spent at Happy Hills during the summer.
Colleen and Heidi loved horses, belonged to a horse club and were very patient with visiting city slickers.
Colleen was an LPN at Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane and she also practiced in Portland, Ore.
Colleen had many hobbies and collections. She loved to knit, crochet, quilt and cross stitch as well as reading and gardening. One of her last endeavors was a potting shed up by her garden and gazebo.
The Pacific Ocean was one of Colleen's favorite places. Once a year, she and her two sisters would go for a two-week quilting retreat. She was the "quilting instructor" for her sisters on the trip over. They couldn't pass an antique stores without stopping - not looking for expensive antiques, just for things you loved.
On the many trips Duane and Colleen took after retirement, Duane was also asked to stop frequently at quilting and antique shops. They have traveled in 39 states, collecting a magnet from each state.
She loved to walk, doing many volkswalks in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana. In all, she walked in 27 Bloomsday races. Her last being in 2007.
She also loved to swim and had a traditions of going to swim with her mother in Lake Pend Oreille on her mother's birthday, Sept. 13. The last swim of the year was usually quite chilly.
She belonged to the Spokane Linwood Seventh-day Adventist Church. Over the years, she served as Sabbath school secretary, deaconess, church clerk, press secretary and a teacher in the children's divisions.
Collen is survived by her husband, Duane; a daughter, Heidi, and son-in-law, Terri Miller of Deer Park; and two grandchildren, Molly Colleen Miller and Matthew Paul Miller; a brother, Jim Weinand of Sandpoint; two sisters, Ann (Dick) Schnibbe of Portland, Ore., and Nya (Leonard) Hodge of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho; in-laws, Norman and Esther Aberle of Selah, Wash., and Lloyd and Elaine Aberle of Winlock Wash.; 12 nieces and nephews; and 17 great-nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her mother and father, and by a nephew, Timothy Hodge.
Colleen fought a courageous fight against cancer for 3 1/2 years. She was loved by all because she loved all.
Services are under the direction of the Lauer Funeral Home in Deer Park, Wash.