Carole Marie Collins
After a long illness, Carole Marie (Janke) Collins, passed away on Thursday, September 21, 2023 in Twin Falls, Idaho.
Carole, the daughter of Alvin and Adelia (Thur) Janke, was born in Richfield, Minnesota on July 25, 1942. In 1943, her parents returned to their family home area of Fairchild, Wisconsin.
The Jankes and Thurs were early settlers in the Garden Valley and Cleveland Townships near Fairchild. Carole grew up in Fairchild and attended Fairchild Elementary and High School with a perfect attendance record for all 12 years, graduating as Valedictorian in 1960.
She then attended Patricia Stevens Career College in Milwaukee and worked for Harnishfeger until her marriage.
Carole and Charles "Chuck" met when his parents moved to Fairchild. They courted for five years and were married on April 27, 1963, at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Fairchild.
As Chuck was in the U.S. Marine Corps, the family followed him to ten state-side duty stations and waited for him through many lengthy field exercises and through three 6-month and two 13-month unaccompanied, overseas deployments (including Vietnam) finally settling in Fallbrook, California for 24 years, where the children all graduated from the Fallbrook High School, and Chuck retired from the Marine Corps.
With the children starting their own lives, Carole and Chuck moved to Placerville, California for six years and finally to Twin Falls, Idaho in 2007.
Carole was loved and cherished by family and friends. She was quiet, self-controlled, and positive, even to her last days; and strong, physically, mentally, and spiritually, raising a family of five children alone, through Chuck's many deployments.
She taught and supervised Sunday School and Vacation Bible School in many of the churches that they attended, participated in the church choirs, women's ministries, the pregnancy counseling center, a local soup kitchen, organized collection of shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child, was treasurer for Joe's Boy Scout troop, and worked for many years for various Fallbrook businesses, to give her children their secondary education, while earning her Associates of Arts from Palomar College.
In 2007 she simultaneously suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and kidney failure and remained on dialysis until her passing. Her doctors were amazed at her ability to withstand two separate bouts of cancer, numerous bouts of pneumonia, many broken bones from falls, and COVID.
Carole is survived by her husband, Charles; their daughters: Jennifer (Dennis) Lack, Julie (Byron) Scott, Jeanette (Todd) Waddell; son, Edward Collins; and grandchildren: Jonathon and Catherine Ehlers; Zechariah, Elijah and Miriam Collins; Rachel Scott; and Kate Waddell. She was preceded in death by her parents, Alvin and Adelia Janke, brothers: Mertin, Kenneth, Clark and daughter, Jane Ehlers.
Funeral services were at Immanuel Lutheran Church, 2055 Filer Avenue East, Twin Falls, Idaho at 10:00 a.m., Saturday, September 30, 2023. Interment will be at the Fairchild, Wisconsin Village Cemetery, with a graveside memorial service at 10:00 a.m., on Saturday, October 28, 2023 with a reception following.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made, in Carole's name, to the Fairchild Area Historical Society, PO Box 199, Fairchild, Wisconsin 54741.
Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.