Obituary of Delores Ann Collinge
Delores Collinge (83) a long time St. Maries, Idaho resident passed away January 15, 2024 at Valley Vista Care Center. She was born to Al and Ida (Olson) Ruby on August 31, 1940, in Troy, Idaho. Delores grew up and attended schools in Deary Idaho.
Delores met George when he came to change out the old crank phones to the new dial phone in their home. George was invited to their house for dinner and the love story began. On September 14, 1957, they were married at the Zion Lutheran Church in Deary and made their home in Moscow Idaho for two years before George’s job transferred him to St. Maries.
Moving to St. Maries with a brand-new baby and finding a home proved to be very challenging. There were no homes to purchase or rent. Thankfully the good Lord was watching out for them and a home was found and so was the funding. It’s quite a story about how they came about purchasing their home. The small quaint home on 13th became theirs and hence the rest is history. They raised their four children there and welcomed nine foreign exchange students from all over the world.
Martha Stewart had nothing on Delores. Delores was an incredible homemaker. When her children were little, she made all of their clothing. The clothes she had sewn were pretty fancy for her children. She won many blue ribbons from the county fair for her sewing because she was a perfectionist and it showed in everything she did. Delores talented didn’t stop at her sewing. She was an incredible cook, as close as you can get to chef status without being a chef. There was nothing she couldn’t and didn’t cook. Delores enjoyed eating out and trying new foods. If the food was one of her favorites, she would continue to visit the restaurant and then go home and try to make the dish until she had perfected it to better than the restaurant original recipe. One of her masterpieces even to this day is her Pizza Soup.
Delores's talent did not stop at sewing and cooking. She was second to none when it came to making crafts, arranging flowers, decorating cakes, quilting, hardanger (Norwegian embroidery), and entertaining. Delores used to cook elaborate meals around her favorite holiday, Christmas. She loved to decorate the inside of her home during Christmas like a magical winter wonderland and invited the people in their soup group and camera club for an incredible meal featuring her homemade Pizza Soup and her homemade Clam Chowder, plus her flawless rolls, salad and a yummy dessert to top it off. She was involved in Mothers Club, the How and Why Club, Camera Club, Camp Fire Girls, Served many years on the Election Board, Jayceetts, and the Community Presbyterian Church. Delores enjoyed making and teaching how to make porcelain dolls. As with all her other endeavors, the dolls and the clothes they wore, were made by her and were award winning.
Probably one of Delores's favorite things in life was her quiet commitment to serve people. She was 43 years old when she took her GED test without studying and passed with a 95%. Delores needed her GED to take the Basic and Advanced EMT classes. She served our community in that capacity as a volunteer for over 25 years. There were plenty of long nights and days dedicated to serving those in need without asking for anything in return. There were very few EMT’s at that time so an incredible amount of time was spent away from her family. While serving as an EMT, she also took on the billing and books for the ambulance from the City of St. Maries. When not busy on the ambulance, she would volunteer to drive people and friends to doctor appointments in Spokane and Coeur d’Alene. Friends and total strangers would call her and ask for her help in a variety of problems, from computer technology, making wedding headpieces, to medical questions, etc.
Delores loved making trips to Deary to the Pie Safe to eat special dinners once a month. She quickly became very good friends with the owners and the people that worked there. They loved to see her when she came and would give her a special table to sit at.
Delores is survived by her children Tami (Don) Holdahl, Shannon Collinge all of St. Maries, Connie (Eric) Hoyle of Colton, Wa. Gary (Melinda) Collinge of Poulson, Mt. her sister and brother-in-law Betty Jean (Cliff) Swanson of Troy Id. 12 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents and her husband George.
A Memorial Service will be on Saturday, February 3rd, 2024, at 1:00 o'clock at the Presbyterian Church in St. Maries. A gathering of family and friends will follow in the fellowship hall of the church immediately after the service.
