Obituary of Connie Kirkella
Connie Kirkella (70), longtime resident of Fernwood, ID passed away at Schneidmiller Hospice House on December 3, 2024, with her son Brian by her side. She was born to Charles “Chuck” and Anita (Powell) Ebert on May 23, 1954, in Quincy, WA. Her beautiful soul was set free from the pain of cancer that had mercilessly invaded her body.
Connie grew up a country girl south of Fernwood and graduated from St. Maries High School with the class of 1972. Following high school, she attended 2 years of college at Lewis and Clark State College and worked 2 years at Omark Ammunition Company. She married Jon Peters and was blessed with 2 children, Kenny and Brian and a bonus son Derek. When the boys were all in school, she furthered her education and received her Registered Nurse Degree. She worked at Benewah Community Hospital for a little while and spent the majority of her career as the MDS Nurse at Valley Vista Care Center.
Connie married Frank Kirkella, and the couple made their home in St. Maries. She spent several years in St. Maries before she moved back to her special home in Fernwood; she always referred to her house in Fernwood as her "healing place" and she loved planting trees on her property. When her granddaughter Brianna was little, they would make "tree soup ". It was a mixture of dirt, pinecones and whatever else could be found that when mixed with water, created a soup that they would go feed to the trees. After working hard for many years, in her retirement, Connie was a self-proclaimed homebody who loved being in her cozy little home with a fire burning in her wood stove. She loved her home and always took time to enjoy her view of the river and surrounding mountains. In the evenings you could find her drinking an occasional whiskey on her deck, and if she wasn’t doing that, she was planting trees on her property and foraging the local forests for herbal remedies. Connie loved simple things such as being in nature, visiting the ocean, feeding wild birds, cooking, reading, and she had a collection of rocks and crystals. Astrology was an interest to her, and she always knew what phase the moon was in. A great listener, Connie, had such calmness about her that made everyone feel at ease. She enjoyed listening to music and especially loved Celtic music. However, the most important thing to her was spending time with her family; she was especially close to her son, Brian, whom she loved to brag about is a great singer!
Connie is survived by her son Brian Peters; her bonus child Derek (Kim) Peters; nephew she helped raise Jared (Linda) Peters; and close nieces and nephew Lena (Greg) Sindt, Adrian (Louis) Tipane, and Matt (Rebekah) Myers; several other nieces and nephews; and grandchildren Brianna Peters, Josilin Rosario, Bailey Peters, and Jaxon Peters. Also surviving are brothers Joe (Vanessa) Ebert and Dan (Aurora) Ebert; sister Dori Myers; mother Anita Eadus; bonus siblings Jim (Tammy) Eadus, Kathy (Larry) Kuck, and Robin Eadus. She is preceded in death by her father Chuck Ebert, stepfather Leonard Eadus, baby sister Sharon Ebert, son Kenny Peters, daughter in-law Amanda Scott, brother John Eadus, and husbands Jon Peters and Frank Kirkella.
At Connie’s request there will be no services, but she will be missed by her family and all her friends who loved her. The family would like to extend gratitude to all those whose thoughts, prayers, cards, and visits helped so much in her last few weeks, thank you!
