DR. COLLEEN JOAN THEUSCH, 81, of Olmsted Falls departed peacefully December, 11, 2014, after a brief battle with pancreatic cancer.
She was born to the late Christian and Marie Theusch on December 18, 1932 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She was married to the late Edward Stanley Anderson on April 18, 1978, and they made their home in Lakewood, Ohio.
She received a bachelor's degree from Dominican College of Racine her Masters at Michigan State and earned her PhD in Advanced Mathematics from Michigan University. She was a board member of the Clague Playhouse, and a volunteer at the Beck Center for the Arts, as well as the Westside Catholic Center. She actively participated in the Mohican Trail 100 Run, since its inception 24 years ago, and she was a member of the American Volkssport Association. She adored and cherished the friendships she had formed from all of her activities throughout the years.
In 1984 one of her nieces shared a home with her, "Warning When I am an Old Woman, I Shall Wear Purple" by Jenny Joseph, which she took to heart. She was ever after known as, "That Dear Sweet Purple Lady" by everyone that ever knew her. After leaving the convent after twenty-six years she began her career as a Richmond Brothers. Later moving on to Laser Cam developing software to cut fabrics and finally ended up at American Greetings as a software designer until her retirement.
She is survived by her sister, Jeanne M. Splain, of Lakewood, Ohio; her sister-in-law, Carolyn M. Theusch, of Ballwin, Missouri; and many nieces, nephews, grand-nieces and grand-nephews as well as all of the other people's lives she has touched. Her presence will be dearly missed, but her loving and giving spirit, and the life lessons she embodied will live on forever in our hearts.
A cemetery chapel service will be held on Thursday, December 18, at 1:00 p.m. at Washington County Memorial Park (3358 Paradise Dr., West Bend, WI 53095).