Obituary of Elsie J. Colander

Elsie Jane Clauson Colander, 91, passed on in her home at 36 Gwendolin Ave., Jamestown, NY on Friday, November 8, 2013 with family, friends, and Hospice at her bedside. She had just celebrated her 91st birthday. Elsie was born October 22, 1922, a daughter of John and Selma Munson Clauson. She was a life-long resident of Jamestown, residing on 147 Cole Avenue for over 60 years before moving to Gwendolin Ave. Following graduation from Jamestown High School in 1940, she attended Jamestown Business College. She then worked at BelAir Craft in Buffalo, NY before returning to Jamestown to work at Alliance Furniture Company and the DairyMen's League on Washington St. While working in Jamestown, she met her husband, the late Fred J Colander, Jr. ("Tiny") and the two were married on January 20, 1945. They lived on the Air Force Base in Liberal, Kansas until the end of World War II when they returned to Jamestown. Once home, she devoted herself to being a wife, homemaker, and full time mother to 4 children. She was an early member of the "Power of Women" program at JCC where she obtained her Associate Degree in Applied Sciences in 1975. Elsie was a Vista Volunteer, worked at the NY State Unemployment Office in Jamestown and was an active member of United Commercial Travelers. She also worked many years with the County Board of Elections, was a member of the American Scandinavian Foundation, a confirmand of the First Lutheran Church, and a member of Kidder Memorial United Methodist Church. Elsie enjoyed many summers with family at Chautauqua Lake, especially at "Fred's Fishing Cottage" in Loomis Bay. She traveled frequently, visiting her children and their families, including trips to Sweden, England, Spain, Puerto Rico, China, Hawaii, Mexico, and The Bahamas. She was a kind person, a loving mother, and a devoted grandmother and great-grandmother. Surviving are her daughter Patricia Ann (Gino) Micciche' of Jamestown, NY, her son, David (Patrice) Colander of Sanibel Island, FL and Middlebury, Vermont, her daughter Susan (Randall) Peterson of Ashville, NY, her son Daniel Robert Colander of Jamestown and Yes Bay, Alaska, and her godchild, Rebecca Wilzen of New Britain, Conn. She is also survived by seven grandchildren: Skylen (Marion) Freet of Sandy, Oregon; Starson Freet of Dunkirk, NY; Jeremy (Laichun) Peterson of South Orange, NJ; Adam (Amanda) Peterson of Naples, FL; Betsy (Craig) Korth of Nyack, NY; Zachary (Kristen) Colander of Houston, TX and Kasey Colander of Washington, DC. She also has eight great-grandchildren: Hana Ann, Greta Linda, and Elsie Jane Freet of Sandy, Oregon; Abigail, Benjamin and Joshua Peterson of Naples, FL.; and Jake and Chace Peterson of South Orange, NJ. Besides her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband Fred J. (who died on Feb. 3, 1994), her infant daughter Priscilla Ann, her three brothers: Edward, Arthur, Norman Clauson and her sister Ruth Joslyn. The funeral service will be held at 1:00 p.m. Saturday November 16, 2013 in the Lind Funeral Home. The Rev. Rick LaDue, pastor of Kidder Memorial United Methodist Church and the Rev. Timothy Phelps, Hospice Chaplain, will officiate. Burial will be in Lake View Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday November 15, 2013 in the funeral home. Memorials may be made to Hospice of Chautauqua County, 20 W Fairmount Ave. Lakewood, NY 14750; or Kidder Memorial United Methodist Church, 385 S Main Street Jamestown, NY 14701.