Melissa Elaine Kollecker

Melissa Elaine Kollecker was born November 22, 1954, in Twin Falls, Idaho, to Darrell and Shirley Cardwell. She was an absolutely delightful child and cute as a button. The family lived south of town when she was born, and Elaine enjoyed all the freedoms of life in the country. She wouldn’t remember those years as well as her older siblings, Bob, Jan, Sheri, Diane and Sheila do, but we remember. We remember the flooded lawn that was our slip and slide in the summer. We remember her learning to roller skate on pink plastic skates, and we remember her landing on her bottom many a time. We remember the ditches, the friendly and the not-so-friendly. And, yes, we remember her taking a spill or two. We remember Sundays at Aunt Dolores’ house and Easters at Aunt Goldie’s. We remember birthdays and cake with cousins year after year. We remember childhood diseases and how the measles hurt our little darling. We also remember how Mom protected her.

We didn’t get to stay always in the country. We moved to a brand-new house at 598 Madison Street, and that’s where Elaine spent most of her growing up years. She went to school and became a graduated Bruin from Twin Falls High School in 1975. Along the way, there was still a lot of time to play and have fun. So that’s what she did.

She spent a lot of time with family at the “cabin”, a shanty in the sagebrush, where we fished and splashed and picked crystals out of the sand. We were going to get rich on those diamonds we found!!! Instead, we got rich in the people we got to know and the cousins we played with. Dewey and Louise Julian were a big part of our life at Magic Reservoir. Just writing this makes my heart feel fuller and fuller.

Did I mention that she played with cousins? For years, the 4th of July was reserved for Camp Bostetter in the South Hills. Dad’s brothers and sisters and their families pitched tents, made a dug-out refrigerator, used a stream cooler, and created a little town that would be our home for four or five days. And, oh, the fun we had! Most of it was safe. We fished in the creek, roasted marshmallows around the campfire, ate till we nearly burst, and got as dirty as we wanted to. We cleared sagebrush and made a respectable baseball field where the young bucks challenged the old timers (our parents) to some grueling games. That was the safe part. Climbing the hill behind camp and running like hooligans down the steep hillside was the crazy part, but it was so fun. I’m sure Elaine had an owie or two to show for her outlandish behavior.

Elaine had two sons. She fell in love with her classmate Dick Miller, and Archie was born August 17, 1974. For years he was known to his family and friends as Dick. Unfortunately, Archie would never know his father because he died before the two were wed. Good things were in store for Elaine, though. On August 26, 1975, Elaine married a good young man, Rick Kollecker. When Darrell was born January 24, 1980, he became the proud father of two sons, because somewhere along the way he adopted Archie. For reasons I don’t understand, some of us have more challenges in life than others. Rick died when Darrell was just a toddler, and Elaine was left to raise the boys on her own.

She was a good mother and a good mom. Her job opportunities were limited, but she told me her favorite job was being cross guard for Lincoln Elementary School. She worked hard to provide for her little family. I would say that Mom and Dad were absolutely her best support. They looked out for her and made sure those boys had plenty of cabin time, and as long as Camp Bostetter was a thing, they were there, too.

We weren’t perfect older siblings. Just like most brothers and sisters, we teased and disagreed and even fought, but for all that, we loved our baby sister. Just two weeks ago when the doctor said things didn’t look good, Elaine told him, “Well, my mom and dad are in heaven, and I’ll be there with them.”

Elaine, we’re looking forward to the day when we are with them, too. You can bet we’ll be looking for you to give you big bear hugs, knowing we’ll be together always and forever in our new home.