Thursday, January 18, 2024
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I became friends with Colleen in Grade 1 in Grasmere Elementary School (1974). We played on the monkey bars, swings and teeter totters together. On the farm we played on the bales of hay in the barn together with her sister Shelley and my brother Scott. We sometimes did homework and studied for exams together. In high school Colleen often drove to school in her old brown car and would often offer me and Shelley Salanski a ride. She was famous for her seat belt tests when she'd suddenly slam on the brakes and give us whiplash while she'd laugh uncontrollably. Her and Ronda Willumeit and I would cruise up and down main street in Fernie during lunch hours. I really don't know why we all drove around like that now but that was the thing to do back then. When she lived in Saskatoon and worked for the police department and I lived in Ryley, Alberta working for the County of Beaver, she and her good friend Shelly Kuny came for a weekend visit. We had drinks at the house and since there weren't many spoons Colleen improvised by using hard sticks of spaghetti as stir sticks. We went to some malls in Edmonton and passed a Studio 86 recording center. Next thing I knew there we were recording our version of Fishing in the Dark by Nitty Gritty Dirt band. It actually sounded pretty good with Colleen on lead vocals and Kuny and I doing backup. Life was never dull with Colleen around. She had a zest for adventure, a flashy smile and a sparkle in her eyes that I will truly miss. Condolences to Don, Donovan, Christina, Nicolas and extended family.
