Alda Cotner-Olson passed away peacefully at home with her rosaries in her hand on November 9, 2006. She was born on August 9, 1923 to Michael DeAngelis and Concetta Ventola in Charlestown, Massachusetts. She attended Girl's Trade High where she graduated with an academic degree as well as a dressmaking degree. She worked on aircraft carriers in the Navy shipyard in Boston during WWII. She met Neal Cotner, a Washington native, who was serving in the Navy during that time. After the war was over, they married and her life of moving across the United States every two years began. She lived in all four corners of the continental United States plus many states in between. Living in Hawaii was a highlight, where she learned to do the hula so beautifully, she was asked to be an instructor. While stationed in San Diego she worked on military airplanes installing insulation. Florida was an exciting time, because she was one of very few women at the time who had the privilege to submerge on a nuclear submarine. When 25 years had past, she and her husband and daughter settled in Yakima, Wa. After her divorce in 1975, she moved to Kennewick to be close to her daughter and family and decided to go back to school to become a nurse. She attended Columbia Basin College where she earned her AA degree. She worked at Kennewick General Hospital for several years before she decided to take a position with the Kennewick School District. She retired from Kennewick High School in 1992 where she worked in the Attendance Office for 10 years. She was also a devoted member of St. Joseph's Parish in Kennewick for 31 years where she counted so many kind people among her friends. You could always find her on the front bench at 9:00 AM Mass each Sunday morning. She was a past member of St. Joseph's Altar Society and The Catholic Daughter's of America where she devoted countless hours fundraising and helping with various activities.

Alda had a wonderful smile and a mischievous sense of humor. She loved sharing a joke and making people laugh. She was a wonderful cook....oh those spaghetti dinners! She would make a big batch of meatballs and call her family to come and get some to put in the freezer. She could have won the title of ''The World's Best Shopper.'' She could always find a great bargain and when she did she would call her family and friends to let them know about ''this great opportunity.'' She got a tremendous kick out of trying to train her granddaughter-in-law to be a ''coupon shopper.''

She was preceded in death by her parents, Michael and Concetta DeAngelis, her sisters, Anne Driscoll, Rose Zeeman, sister Millie and brother Joe DeAngelis, her son-in-law Bill Thoreson and her granddaughter, Michele Thoreson.

She is survived by her daughter, Theresa Terri Thoreson, her grandson and his wife, Brian and Melissa Thoreson and great-grandchildren, Camryn and Andrew Thoreson, who were so special to her and definitely the light of her life. She is also survived by her sister, Eva Fleming, brother, Mike DeAngelis and many nieces and nephews on the east coast.

A rosary will be recited at Einan's Funeral Home in Richland at 7 PM on Friday, November 17, 2006, with viewing beginning at 3 PM. The memorial service will be held at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Kennewick at 1 PM on Saturday, November 18, with burial following at Sunset Memorial Gardens on the By-pass Highway in Richland.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to: St. Joseph's Building Fund, 520 South Garfield, Kennewick, WA 99336.