Izola A. Coriell
Sept. 10, 1912 - Dec. 9, 2008
Friday, December 12, 2008 12:16 PM PST
Payette
Izola A. Coriell, 96, Payette, passed away Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2008, at Holy Rosary Medical Center, Ontario, due to respiratory failure. Surround-ed by her family, she passed peacefully into the presence of her Lord. Memorial services will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 13, 2008, at the First United Methodist Church, Payette. Services are under the direction of Shaffer-Jensen Memory Chapel, Payette. Condolences may be made to the family at
www.shaffer-jensenchapel.com.
Izola was born Sept. 10, 1912, in Payette, daughter of Albert and Hazel Coates. She was raised on a ranch on Little Willow, where she went to a one room school. Her high school years were spent at the Intermountain Institute in Weiser, graduating in 1930. She attended Link Business College.
In 1932, she married the love of her life and husband for 62 years, Richard Coriell. They moved to Indian Valley to make their home. They spent the first year of their marriage living in a tent at the Mesa Orchards where they picked apples. In 1934, they moved into a new house built by Dick and his father. They lived there and farmed with Dick’s dad until 1947, when they moved to Cambridge. During her years in Indian Valley, times were hard during the depression. She worked beside Dick, farming, milking cows, hauling water from a spring, gardening, cooking for men and raising their three daughters.
Izola and Dick were very musical and during that time formed a dance band they called “The Midnight Serenaders.” They played for dances all over the country for 25 years.
In 1949, Izola and Dick purchased the Cambridge Telephone Company. They worked many years building and improving the company, installing the first dial system in the state at Indian Valley in 1951 and later in Cambridge in 1957.
Izola loved people, and she was active in many organizations. She was a Girl Scout leader, joined the Cambridge Chapter of the Eastern Star and the Welcome Rebekah Lodge. She also belonged to the Indian Valley Improvement League and the Cambridge Lookout Club.
In 1963, Izola and Dick retired, selling the telephone company to their daughter and son-in-law, Joana and Kermit Wiggins. They bought a home in Payette and lived there the rest of their lives. Izola couldn’t stay idle for long. She and Dick bought the Oxbow Lanes in Weiser. Then she went to work as a bookkeeper at the Fruitland Canning Company until it closed.
Dick was a wonderful carpenter, so he built their first pick up camper, and they enjoyed traveling in the southwest for 18 years.
Being the fun-loving person she was, Izola was active in many organizations in Payette. She was secretary of the Intermountain Institute Alumni and organized their annual reunions and picnic every year, even up to this September where only three remaining alumni attended. She had a great love for the museum in Weiser, especially the Institute room where she provided many things for display.
She was a 60-year member of the Cambridge and Lorraine Chapters of the Eastern Star and a 56-year member of Welcome and Harmony Rebekah Lodges. She had an 11- year perfect attendance in the Rebekah Lodge, being a national record. She belonged to the Past Matrons Club, the Garden Club, Craft Club, SOLO Ladies and two card clubs. She was a member of the First United Methodist Church and the First United Methodist Women. She was often heard to say, “I’m the busiest old woman in Payette County.”
She loved to garden and grew beautiful roses that she shared with many. She crocheted up miles of string and yarn, and everyone enjoyed her many creations. She was a good cook, still able to put on a dinner for her family, and made the best chocolate pie ever.
In September on her 96th birthday, her children and grandchildren honored her with a certified certificate naming a star in the galaxy after her. So when you look to the heavens just a few degrees from Pisces, you will see the Izola Adeline Coriell star shining down upon you.
She was a wonderful mother, grandmother and friend. Her three loving daughters, who considered their mother a gift, treasured her for her loving care and sense of humor.
Surviving her are her daughters and sons-in-law, Joana and Kermit Wiggins, Dixie and Burt Harger and Judy and Allan Widener; eight grandchildren; 18 great grandchildren; two great-great grandchildren; two very special friends, Iona Mosely and Dorothy Craig; nieces and nephews; and many, many friends.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Richard; her parents, Albert and Hazel Coates; two brothers, Ralph and Douglas; a special sister-in-law, Mabel Coates; and a little grandson.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Eastern Star ESTARL Educational Fund or the Harmony Rebekah Lodge, c/o Shaffer-Jensen Memory Chapel, P.O. Box 730, Payette, ID 83661.
