It is always a sad and sentimental moment when one of our Legacy clients passes. This is especially true with the passing of the sweetest and happiest lady we know – Colleen Plantinga. Colleen’s favorite song was “Oh What a Beautiful Morning” from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical “Oklahoma” and her phenomenal daughter Prill Boyle, her son-in-law Mike Boyle, and her grandson Ev Boyle were singing this song to her as she took her last breath, in her own bed, on her own terms. She swam the width of the Ohio River when she was a young girl growing up in West Virginia. She never lacked for being the first in line to have a great adventure. She was even one of the very first airline stewardesses – for Eastern Airlines. She traveled to Europe on her own when she was only in her early 20’s. She graduated from Vassar in 1944 and decided to stay in New York rather than returning home. For their honeymoon, she and her husband John Plantinga hopped in a little red convertible MG and set out to drive cross country to California. They didn’t have much money and they spent one rainy night under a St.Louis bridge, covered only by a blanket. As the years passed, the travel accommodations did improve on their many trips to Europe and throughout the USA. But Colleen’s greatest joy grew in her gardens – her flowers. Colleen was a devoted mother, an avid gardener, and a very talented painter – painting mostly the flowers in her garden. The joy and love she brought to our lives is immeasurable. Not a day will go by that we don’t think of her. The flowers will miss her, too.