Nellie Lutz

Nellie “Colleen” Lutz, 53, died June 10, 2014, at her home in Columbia Falls.

Colleen was born in Shelby on May 10, 1961, and lived in Great Falls and Spokane during her early childhood. The family moved to Evergreen and she attended Evergreen Elementary and Junior High and graduated from Flathead High School in 1979.

Colleen worked in Spokane after high school, but then moved back to the Flathead Valley and worked at Taylor, Thon and Associates (later Architects Design Group) as an office manager for more than 10 years, a payroll administrator for LHC Inc. for 14 years and a payroll administrator for Flathead Electric Cooperative for just over five years. She also assisted her husband with their landscape architecture and planning business and was adept at laying out planting designs.

Colleen achieved an associate’s degree from Flathead Valley Community College, a prairie horticulture certificate from the University of Saskatchewan and a payroll and HR certificate while working for Flathead Electric. Colleen was four classes away from receiving her bachelor’s degree from Regis University in both business management and human resources.

She is survived by her husband Bruce; daughter Nellie Lutz and son Jacob Lutz; daughter Brittany Niemeyer, her husband Brad Niemeyer and grandson Carson Niemeyer and granddaughter Eva Niemeyer; grandmother Altha Lester; father Don Crumley; mother Marcella Hughes; brothers Robert, Joe and Mike Crumley; aunt Arlita Fyfe; aunt George-Ann Crumley; niece Natalie; nephews Joe and Codee Crumley; foster mom Linda Denney; foster dad Jim Denney; and foster brothers Bren and Craig Denny.

The Lutz family held a celebration of life on June 15. 2014.