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Kellie Marie Cranmer, 41

Kellie Marie Cranmer, of Rathdrum, Idaho, age 41, was born on May 6, 1977, in Fresno, Calif. and passed away on the morning of Sept. 14, 2018, surrounded by her loved ones at the Coeur d’Alene Hospice House. A celebration of life will be held at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 30, 2018, at Elk Point Events, 4176 E. Potlatch Hill Road, Coeur d’Alene.

Kellie moved from California in 1998, to North Idaho, and loved living here. She had worked at the Coldwater Creek call center in Coeur d’Alene for a number of years before moving to Moyie Springs, Idaho, where she worked for her mom, Donna Capurso, as office manager for Selkirk Mountain Real Estate, in Bonners Ferry, Idaho.

After being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008, she and her husband, Geno and her daughter, Paige moved to Coeur d’Alene to be closer to her oncologist and to be able to receive cancer treatments. In 2016, Kellie was featured in the Kootenai Health Magazine Issue 3. You can read her story here: http://kootenaihealth.flippublication.com/Issue/BDFE35D9-C4F0-25C6-0214B1742E78F608/Issue32016/index.html

Kellie went to work for SQM Group US in Coeur d’Alene, starting in February, 2013 as a Team Lead. She worked there until this year — up to the point that she was no longer physically able to do so. Her employers, Mike and Lisa Desmarais, as well as her fellow employees, were so supportive of Kellie while she fought her battle against her metastatic breast cancer.

Kellie never faltered in her faith, nor in her more than ten-year fight against this insidious disease. Her amazing fortitude, positive attitude and determination was an inspiration to many people. She participated in the Susan G. Komen Coeur d’Alene Race for the Cure. She never complained about the horrendous pain that she had to endure or the two hip replacement surgeries she had to have as her bones became brittle from all of the tumors in her body, including the six that had gotten into her liver. When she had an episode from the tumor that had then gotten into her brain, her body started to deny her the life that she had fought so hard to keep. Despite her trials and tribulations, Kellie always had a smile and a kind word for everyone she came across.

Kellie enjoyed photography, jewelry making, planting flowers in her yard and collecting owls; she particularly liked snowy owls. Kellie absolutely adored her daughter, Paige. When Paige started having children, no one was happier than Kellie to be able to shower so much love and devotion onto her grandchildren, Meridian (age 4), Willow (age 2) and Jaxen (8 months) who Kellie referred to as her “Goobers.”

Her husband Geno was a “rock” for her. Kellie loved Christmas, Halloween and watching “scary movies,” especially with Paige. Kellie carried her camera more often than she did a purse, and was always ready to take someone’s photo or stop off the side of a road to capture anything she liked through her camera lens.

Kellie completely shared her love with her family and she is survived by her mother and stepdad, Donna and Terry Capurso of Moyie Springs; father and stepmother Richard and Blanche Boland of Lincoln, Calif.; husband, Eugene (“Geno”) Cranmer of Rathdrum; daughter, Paige Marin and her children, Meridian, Willow and Jaxen of Coeur d’Alene; brother and sister-in-law, Shawn and Kristen Boland and their four children of Guerneville, Calif; sister, Shannon Uriarte and her four children of Sanger, Calif.; sister, Kristi Capurso of Costa Mesa, Calif.; sister and brother-in-law, Andrea and Saleem Haddad and three children of Modesto, Calif.; mother-in-law and father-in-law Elwin (“El”) and Elaine Cranmer of Hayden, Idaho; sister-in-law, Elise Cranmer of Hayden; brother-in-law and sister-in-law Eric and Gina Cranmer of Auburn, Wash.; aunt and uncle, LuAnn and Art Fouts of Sagle, Idaho, and aunt, Deb Fouts and her husband, Kevin; Kellie has a lot of other aunts and uncles, as well as cousins, and she loved all of them as well.

Those who want to come to Kellie’s celebration of life at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 30, 2018, at Elk Point Events Center, 4176 E. Potlatch Hill Road in Coeur d’Alene will be welcome to share how Kellie played a part in their lives, a special anecdote or just to be there and share Kellie’s love of life with her family and friends. This will be an informal gathering and anyone wanting to bring an appetizer or finger food would be appreciated. A bar for those who wish to purchase alcoholic beverages will be available.

Flowers are always appropriate but a donation to Hospice of North Idaho (Coeur d’Alene) in memory of Kellie Marie Cranmer would be even more appreciated. The staff of Hospice were so awesome and caring of Kellie, I think they are angels on earth and I cannot thank them enough for their loving care of her. Their address is 2290 W. Prairie Ave., Coeur d’Alene, ID 83815.

After Kellie’s celebration of life ends, weather permitting, we will be spreading her ashes on Tubbs Hill in Coeur d’Alene. Everyone that would like to attend is more than welcome. Kellie wanted to be able to overlook Lake Coeur d’Alene, one of her very favorite places. For more information on the location of Kellie’s celebration of life, just Google “Elk Point Events CdA.”

Once Kellie had told me, “Mom, please don’t worry about me. When it is your time to come to heaven, I promise to meet you at Heaven’s Gate.”

Kellie always worried about everyone except herself. On Saturday morning, almost 24 hours to the minute of her passing, half of a bright rainbow appeared outside our back deck and across the river with a pink mist around the rainbow. Terry said, “You know what that is all about, don’t you?” And I replied, “Yes, that is Kellie telling us that she is happy and now at peace.”

Please visit Kellie’s online memorial at www.belltowerfuneralhome.com.