Claire Jane (Durling) Coleman

Claire always had a smile to share. Even during her last hours, she smiled and thanked her caregivers for arranging her pillow or pulling up her blanket. She loved to connect with people and find out where they were from. She would share, “I am from a small town in Ohio called Amherst”. She brought kindness and helpfulness to every encounter. She loved family, trees, sunshine, coffee, sandpipers, fresh-picked tomatoes, numbers, sunflowers, libraries, knitting, and Apple computers.

Claire Jane Coleman, 97, passed away peacefully with family by her side at Hansen Cottage at St. John’s United in Billings, Montana, on August 11, 2025. She died of natural causes. During her last years, she lived with Alzheimer’s.

Claire was born Jane Claire Durling, later changing her middle name to her first name. Family and friends often called her Jane, which she also used at times. She was born in Amherst, Ohio, on April 26, 1928, the first child of William Jacob Durling and Flora Evelyn Hearn Durling. She graduated from Amherst High School in 1946. She attended Ohio State University, where she met her future husband and father of her children, Richard William Highland, who was a psychology graduate student at the time. She raised four children in Southern California, and when they were older, she returned to college to pursue her dream of becoming a nurse. She graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles with her BS in Nursing. She later completed a Master of Arts in Sociology with a focus in Social Gerontology from New Mexico State University.

She had wanted to be a nurse since, as a teenager during World War II, she longed to join the Army Nurse Corps. Throughout her 27-year career as a Registered Nurse, she worked in hospitals, home care, hospice, and Saint Vincent Healthcare’s Ask-A-Nurse program, with her final employment being with the State of Montana as a Healthcare Facility Surveyor. While working at Kaiser Hospital in West Los Angeles in 1975, she was a victim of gun violence. She courageously entered a room to help her injured nurse supervisor and was shot and seriously injured. It was miraculous; she survived. She felt there must be a reason she lived that day. Though impacted by this trauma, she lived the rest of her life gratefully, spreading her sweetness, wisdom, and creating countless meaningful memories with her family and everyone she encountered. She was deeply loved and will be missed immensely.

A lifelong reader and learner, she remained open to learning new things and sharing that knowledge with others. In retirement, she worked with the local Retired Senior Volunteer Program, focusing on conservation issues through the non-profit Our Montana. She also worked with Project Homeless Connect and was appointed to the Mayor’s Committee on Homelessness in 2009. An avid knitter, her most recent charity passion was completing hundreds of knitted squares, which were made into blankets for AIDS-affected children in South Africa.

Claire Jane was raised in the United Church of Christ and kept the Bible she received when she was 10 years old, with important pages highlighted with sticky notes. Always a spiritual person, she was a lifelong seeker of meaning and epitomized the golden rule. During the turbulent sixties, her family attended a Unitarian Church. A lover of peace, she studied Quakerism in her later years and attended local Quaker meetings.

She served as a Montana delegate to the Democratic National Convention in Boston in 2004. She later declared Boston her favorite city. She remained active in politics, attending Democratic gatherings and writing to her legislators about topics important to her.

Claire Jane lived in many places, including Ohio, Illinois, Mississippi, Colorado, California, and New Mexico. She made Billings, Montana, her home in 1988 when she moved her mother from New Mexico, eventually to what was then called St. John’s Lutheran Home.

Claire Jane was married to Richard Highland for 21 years. Although they parted ways, they remained friends, which was very helpful for their children. Claire was by his side when he passed away in 2004. Claire was also married to Joseph Wulfeck, John Colburn, and Clark Coleman. They all preceded her in death.

Claire Jane was preceded in death by her parents, William Jacob Durling and Flora Evelyn Hearn Durling, her sister, Mary Jeanette Durling, and daughter-in-law, Judi Highland. Survivors include her sister Susanne Hearn Durling of Tucson, Arizona, four children, Joanie Highland McNiece (Michael) of Fountain, Colorado, Glenn Highland of Corona del Mar, California, Carol Highland-Fritz (Larry) of Billings, Montana, Bruce Highland of Maui, Hawaii; six grandchildren, Shannon McNiece Whetstone (Jesse), Blaine Fritz, Evan Fritz, Nathan Fritz (Melodi Anahtar), Kristian C. McNiece, and Caroline McNiece Owens (Jayk); three great grandchildren, Annie McNiece, Maggio Whetstone and Asha Owens; and nephews Paul, John and Stephen Fixx and niece Betsy Gumina.

No matter what life handed her, Claire Jane said she was “looking forward to what comes next”.

Cremation has taken place. Family will gather later for celebration of life. A group memorial service will be held on September 10, 2025, at 3:30 p.m. at Ocee Johnson Chapel, located in Chapel Court, 3940 Rimrock Road. Donations can be made to a charity of one’s choice, Montana PBS (montanapbs.org), or the Billings Library (billingslibraryfoundation.org). Special thanks to Hansen Cottage for their years of loving care and to Riverstone Hospice. Additional gratitude for compassionate care to Dr. Nathan Bates and Billings Clinic’s Cardiovascular Unit.