Kellie Marie Cranmer

Kellie Marie Cranmer, of Rathdrum, Idaho, age 41, was born on 5-6-77 in Fresno, California and passed away on the morning of September 14th, 2018, surrounded by her loved ones at the Coeur d’Alene Hospice House.  A Celebration of Life will be held on Sunday, September 30th at 1:00 pm at Elk Point Events, 4176 E. Potlatch Hill Rd, Coeur d’Alene.  

Kellie moved from California in 1998 to north Idaho, and loved living here.  She had worked at the Coldwater Creek call center in Coeur d’Alene for a number of years before moving to Moyie Springs where she worked for her mom, Donna Capurso, as office manager for Selkirk Mountain Real Estate in Bonners Ferry. 

After being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008, she and her husband Geno and her daughter Paige moved to Coeur d’Alene to be closer to her oncologist and to be able to receive cancer treatments.  In 2016 Kellie was featured in the Kootenai Health Magazine Issue 3.  You can read her story here: http://kootenaihealth.flippublication.com/Issue/BDFE35D9-C4F0-25C6-0214B1742E78F608/Issue32016/index.html

Kellie went to work for SQM Group US in CDA starting in February, 2013 as a Team Lead and worked there until this year up to the point that she was no longer physically able to do so.  Her employers, Mike and Lisa Desmarais, as well as her fellow employees, were so supportive of Kellie while she fought her battle against her metastatic breast cancer.

Kellie never faltered in her faith nor her more than ten year fight against this insidious disease.  Her amazing fortitude, positive attitude and determination was an inspiration to many people.  She participated in the Susan G. Komen Coeur d’Alene Race for the Cure.  She never complained about the horrendous pain that she had to endure, the two hip replacement surgeries as her bones became brittle from all of the tumors in her body, including the six that had gotten into her liver.  When she had an episode from the tumor that had then gotten into her brain, her body started to deny her the life that she had fought so hard to keep.  Despite her trials and tribulations, Kellie always had a smile and a kind word for everyone she came across.

Kellie enjoyed photography, jewelry making, planting flowers in her yard and she collected owls, but she particularly liked snowy owls.  Kellie absolutely adored her daughter Paige, and when Paige started having children, no one was happier than Kellie to be able to shower so much love and devotion onto her grandchildren, Meridian age 4, Willow age 2 and Jaxen 8 months, who Kellie referred to as her “Goobers.”  Her husband Geno was “a rock” for her.  Kellie loved Christmas, Halloween, and watching “scary movies,” especially with Paige.  Kellie carried her camera more often than she did a purse and was always ready to take someone’s photo or stop off the side of a road to capture anything she liked through her camera lens.

Kellie completely shared her love with her family and she is survived by her mother and stepdad Donna & Terry Capurso of Moyie Springs, ID; father & stepmother Richard & Blanche Boland of Lincoln, CA; husband Eugene (Geno) Cranmer of Rathdrum, ID; daughter Paige Marin & her children Meridian, Willow & Jaxen of Coeur d’Alene, ID; brother & sister-in-law Shawn & Kristen Boland & their 4 children of Guerneville, CA; sister Shannon Uriarte & her four children of Sanger, CA; sister Kristi Capurso of Costa Mesa, CA; sister & brother-in-law Andrea & Saleem Haddad & three children of Modesto, CA; mother-in-law and father-in-law Elwin (El) & Elaine Cranmer of Hayden, ID; sister-in-law Elise Cranmer of Hayden, ID; brother-in-law & sister-in-law Eric & Gina Cranmer of Auburn, WA; aunt & uncle LuAnn & Art Fouts of Sagle, ID & aunt Deb Fouts & her husband Kevin; Kellie has a lot of other aunts, uncles as well as cousins and she loved all of them as well. 

Those who want to come to Kellie’s Celebration of Life on Sunday, September 30th at 1:00 pm at Elk Point Events, 4176 E. Potlatch Hill Rd, Coeur d’Alene will be welcome to share how Kellie played a part in their lives, a special anecdote or just to be there and share Kellie’s love of life with her family and friends.  This will be an informal gathering and anyone wanting to bring an appetizer or finger food would be appreciated.  A bar for those who wish to purchase alcoholic beverages will be available. Flowers are always appropriate but a donation to Hospice of North Idaho (CdA) in memory of Kellie Marie Cranmer would be even more appreciated.  The staff of Hospice were so awesome and caring of Kellie, I think they are angels on earth and I cannot thank them enough for their loving care of her.  Their address is 2290 W. Prairie, Coeur d’Alene, ID 83815.  After Kellie’s Celebration of Life ends, weather permitting, we will be spreading her ashes on Tubbs Hill in Coeur d’Alene.  Everyone that would like to attend is more than welcome.  Kellie wanted to be able to overlook Lake Coeur d’Alene, one of her very favorite places.  For more information on the location of Kellie’s Celebration of Life, just Google “Elk Point Events CdA.”

Once Kellie had told me: “Mom, please don’t worry about me.  When it is your time to come to heaven, I promise to meet you at Heaven’s Gate.” Kellie always worried about everyone except herself.  On Saturday morning, almost 24 hours to the minute of her passing, half of a bright rainbow appeared outside our back deck and across the river with a pink mist around the rainbow.  Terry said, “You know what that is all about, don’t you?”  And I replied, “Yes, that is Kellie telling us that she is happy and now at peace.