Colette Odile Arntson

Colette was born on March 15, 1941 in occupied France and raised by her aunt Renee and uncle Edouard in the town of Saumur. As a young girl, she was an avid athlete and enjoyed competing in basketball, swimming and cycling. In 1959, at the age of 18, a nervous Colette was named the “Queen of Sport” at the annual L’Olympique Grand Annual Ball.

While working as a secretary at a U.S. military base in Poitiers, she had a fateful encounter passing Peter, a dashing young American Army 1st LT, on the stairwell. They caught each other’s eyes and soon fell in love. Colette and Peter married on July 11, 1962 and eventually moved to Peter’s hometown of Arlington, Virginia. They then moved to Charlottesville, where Colette worked to put Peter through law school at the University of Virginia. After his graduation, they returned to Northern Virginia where she helped to support them both until their son, Eric, was born in 1966.

Over the years, Colette held numerous jobs and worked with many charities which were close to her heart. Especially dear to Colette was her work side-by-side with Peter for the Northern Virginia chapter of The American Heart Association, where he served as Chairman of the Board and she served as Chairman of the Heart Ball, the association’s annual celebration. Above all, Colette lived for her family. She loved Peter and Eric with all of her heart and will be missed dearly.

A mass of christian burial for Colette will be held Wednesday, January 22, 2025 from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM at Our Lady Queen of Peace Roman Catholic Church, 2700 19th St S, Arlington, VA 22204.