Catherine Cooley

Catherine E. Cooley age 99 of Belle Fourche, died November 26, 2010 at the Spearfish Regional Hospital. Funeral services will be held 12:30 PM Monday November 29th, 2010 at St. James Lutheran Church in Belle Fourche, with Rev. Jeff Otterman officiating. Interment will be held at Pine Slope Cemetery, in Belle Fourche. Arrangements are with Funeral Home of the Northern Hills in Belle Fourche. Catherine Elizabeth Middlesworth was born August 14, 1911 in Armour, South Dakota. She was the daughter of Miron and Miriam J. (Byer) Middlesworth. On April 29, 1932, Catherine was married to Donald Colley in Rushville, Nebraska. Kate had a lifelong love of gardening and canning produce, and she enjoyed it well into her 93rd year. She baked her own bread until she was 96 years old. Through the years she cooked at numerous restaurants in Belle Fourche, Spearfish, and Colony Wyoming. Her driver’s license expired on her birthday in 2008; she never had a traffic ticket nor was in an accident in the nearly 70 years that she drove. A member of St. James Lutheran Church, she joined a quilting circle, and also sewed quilt tops for the Community Action Team for over a decade. Kate loved to crochet and embroider, and also spent time doing pencil drawings of animals and flowers. She was in the height of her glory when she was babysitting her grandchildren and cooking for her family – she dearly loved them all. Surviving is her daughter, Geneva Wilson of Cincinnati OH; daughter-in-law, Virginia Cooley-Linder of Greeley CO; sister, Thelma Wright of Citrus Heights CA; sister-in-law, Marjorie Middlesworth of Gregory SD; 7 grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren; and 11 nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Don; 2 infants; son, Miron Cooley; 2 grandsons, Dale and Don Cooley; sister, Esther Ashton; brother, Charles Middlesworth; step-brother, Jesse Wulf; step-sisters, Peggy Miller, Sally Wilder-Jensen; and step-father, Gustaf Wulf. DATE OF BIRTH August 14, 1911 Armour, South Dakota DATE OF DEATH November 26, 2010 Spearfish, South Dakota FUNERAL SERVICE 12:30 P.M. – Monday – November 29th, 2010 St. James Lutheran Church Belle Fourche, South Dakota OFFICIANT Rev. Jeff Otterman SPECIAL MUSIC “Hymn of Promise” Ree Reich, Soloist Lanelle Cundall, Organist CASKETBEARER Jason Wilson INTERMENT Pine Slope Cemetery Belle Fourche, South Dakota