L. Lenete Collier
Lillian Lenete Collier passed away early
Tuesday morning, November 17, 2009, at Valley Health Care Center in
Billings.
Lenete was born February 9,1930, in Clay Center, Kansas, to John
Kellogg and Mabel (Roundtree) Preble. While Lenete was still a
child, the family moved to Lomita, California, where she grew up. It
was at a riding club there, shortly after the war, that she met
Wayne Collier, whom she married in 1948.
They lived in San Luis Obispo, CA, for two years while Wayne studied
at Cal Poly, and where their first son, Charles, was born in 1950.
After Wayne's graduation, they lived briefly in Torrance, CA. John,
their second son, was born in 1952, and shortly afterwards they
moved to San Jacinto, a small town on the edge of the Southern
California desert. Scott was born there in 1954 and Jeff in 1959.
In 1963, Lenete and Wayne, with their four sons in tow, moved to
Santa Rosa, in Northern California, where they lived for the next 25
years. When the last of the sons had finally moved out, Lenete took
a job at the California Workers' Compensation Appeals Board, working
as a judge's clerk. After she and Wayne retired, they moved to
Billings, in 1988.
Raising four sons is no picnic, but Lenete made it look easy, which
takes a lot of hard work. She helped them with their homework, drove
them to early morning swim practice, and made them wash the dishes,
straighten their rooms, and not call each other bad names (at least
not too often).
When one of them was taken ill in Alaska, she flew to Fairbanks,
nursed him back to health, and helped him drive back home to
California, all in the dead of winter.
She was an avid reader all her life, and passed this love of books
on to her sons. She was especially fond of Dickens, Faulkner, and
Harry Potter. She loved the music of Judy Garland, Patsy Cline,
Willie Nelson, and Andrea Bocelli. She also enjoyed backpacking and
was fond of animals, especially those of the feline persuasion.
She was a devout Christian and was active in church affairs, as well
as ushering at Alberta Bair Theater and helping out at Bright and
Beautiful, until her health prohibited.
Lenete was preceded in death by her older sister, Bette; her younger
sister, Kay and, in 2004, by her beloved husband of 56 years, Wayne.
She is survived by her four sons, Charles Wayne Jr., of Billings,
John (Linda) of Ukiah, CA, Scott (Yoko) of Fairbanks, AK, and Jeff
(Margo) of Bismarck, ND; her grandchildren Jeremy, Michell, Scott,
Steve, Misty, and Amanda; her niece, Teresa, who has been like a
daughter to her; and one large, rather cranky cat.
Memorial services will be held at 3:00 P.M., on Monday, November 23, at Michelotti- Sawyers Mortuary, 1001 Alderson Ave., in Billings. Memorials may be made to 65 Roses, c/o Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (national headquarters) 6931 Arlington Road, Bethesda, Maryland 20814, or the American Cancer Society, 2812 1st Ave. N Suite 216, Billings, MT 59101.
We all loved her dearly, and will miss her always.
Remembrances
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