Dorene Lois Visser, 82
June 29, 1927 - Feb. 23, 2010
While in the arms of her family, Dorene Lois Visser, 82, went home to be with our Lord Jesus, Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2010. She was born June 29, 1927, to Charles L. Fry of Bonners Ferry and May (Newcomb) MacDonald of Priest River.
She was raised by her maternal grandparents George Nathaniel and Leo Claudine Bear at the family homestead. She attended first grade at Newcomb Schoolhouse located above Priest River as well as Laclede and Sandpoint schools before moving with her family to Nyssa, Ore. She graduated from Nyssa High School in 1945 then graduated from Kinman Business School in Spokane.
She met Pvt. James L. Pate of Tallapoosa, Ga., and they married in the fall of 1946. They moved to Priest River and had three children. She later married Dale M. Visser of Newport, Wash., in 1964 making their home in Las Vegas, Nev., having a son.
Dorene returned to the Coeur d’Alene area in the late 1970s and continued her long career working for various state and government agencies until her retirement at the age of 70. She was a longtime member of Christ the King Lutheran Church in Coeur d’Alene. Her hobbies included gardening, painting, knitting and a love of horses.
Dorene was preceded in death by her parents, grandparents, brother Loren MacDonald and two infant grandchildren: Christopher Pate and Brian Pate.
She is survived by her sister, Helen (MacDonald) Cole of Priest River; daughter and husband, Linda (Pate) and Carl Chapin of Dalton Gardens; son and wife, Robert and Tammy Pate, of Priest River; son and wife, Richard and Annie Pate of Mountain Home, Idaho; and son and wife, Randy and Terri Visser of Redmond, Ore. She is also survived by seven grandchildren: Wendy, Dana, Julie, Joshua, Debin, Richard and Douglas; 12 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.
Funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. Monday, March 1, 2010, at Yates Funeral Home, Coeur d’Alene Chapel, with graveside service to follow at Riverview Cemetery in Coeur d’Alene.
Please visit Dorene’s online memorial at www.yatesfuneralhomes.com.