Colleen J. Holland

3/17/1930 — 12/25/2015

Service Date: 12/31/2015
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Colleen Jayne Bickford Holland was born March 17, 1930, in Twin Falls, at the farm home of her parents, Gladys and Claude Bickford. She was joined Oct. 2, 1932, by her only sibling and her "best friend in the world" Doug Bickford.

They moved to Lewiston in 1943, when her father provided mules to the war effort, leading to a partnership in Twin City Sales Yard, later becoming Lewiston Livestock. She grew up in the business, working in the office with her mom, dad and Doug in the ring.

Her father died shortly after her graduation. She postponed going to the University of Idaho for a year and remained in Lewiston, working at Lewis-Clark State College as a secretary. Her family continued to operate the business along with their partners.

Colleen went to UI the next fall, where she met Maurice E. "Dutch" Holland, who had returned from the war and was a junior. He playfully threw her in a snowbank and later visited her in the hospital as she recovered from pneumonia. She told him her name was Bickford and from then on she became "Bick." They married in September 1950 and settled in the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley. Children Doug, Claudia Winkler (Jerry), and Kent (Bonnie) completed their family. In 1965 they moved from Lewiston to Clarkston, where they remained. After 62 years of marriage, Dutch passed in 2012.

Their best memories were friends and fishing. Mom loved to brag on catching more or bigger fish. Often, the truth would be somewhat altered. They traveled in their recreational vehicle, went on trips with their friends in their Good Sams Club, spent months fishing in Seiku, Wash., and enjoyed flowers and their backyard. Mom liked needlework and made many Brazilian embroidery pictures.

Her three children, all in the valley; seven grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren; three great-great-grandchildren; and her cousin, Sue Riggs, and family of Fruitland, Idaho, survive her.

Her parents; her brother, Doug and his wife Benita; her son-in-law, Cliff Cool; and her grandson, Ben Cool; preceded her in death.

A graveside memorial will be held at 1 p.m. Thursday at the Normal Hill Cemetery in Lewiston. A dinner will follow. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Lewis-Clark Animal Shelter. Vasser-Rawls Funeral Home is handling the arrangements.