May 17, 1927 – April 19, 2017

Colleen Settle Nord was born in Wildwood, Florida and raised in both Coldwater Michigan and Safford, Arizona.

After completing her nursing training, she was employed at Safford Hospital. She left nursing to pursue other passions and became a very successful entrepreneur in several industries including fashion, advertising and insurance. She broke the glass ceiling for women in the fashion industry by establishing a number of businesses including a women’s clothing shop in Safford, AZ which expanded to Fort Huachuca, AZ, and San Jose, Calif. At time she worked as a fashion model and even established her own women’s fashion line.

From AZ, she moved to San Jose to marry Frederick Nord where the two of them raised their combined seven children for several years. The family eventually moved to Auburn, WA where she first established Nord Advertising and later Nord America Direct, an insurance brokerage. She also became a member of Holy Family Church where she sang in the choir for years. From an early age Colleen loved music and even had her own radio show “Songs of the Old South” in Battle Creek, MI during WWII. Colleen was a multi-talented woman who was smart, creative, kind and generous and will be greatly missed by those who knew her.

Colleen is survived by her husband, of 41 years, Frederick, daughter Victoria and son John, step-daughters Susan, Mary, and Diane, 14 grandchildren and great-grandchildren and her sister Leta Craig. She was preceded in death by brother Philip Settle, son James, and step-daughter Catherine.

Services will be held at Holy Family Church, 11:00 AM, April 27, 2017. She will be interred in Tahoma National

Cemetery.