Harriett Colleen McMillen

Harriett Colleen McMillen was born on December 21, 1925 in Cheyenne, Wyoming, to Howard H. Speight and Marjorie Annette (Kerr) Speight. She passed away peacefully on October 23, 2023, at home in Fort Collins, Colorado. She was the second-oldest child (and oldest girl) of 7 children. She had three brothers (Howard, Dick, and Bob) and three sisters (Beth, Jeannine, and Vera). She was called Colleen by her parents and siblings, and Harriett by other family and friends. The family lived in Cheyenne until she was 12, at which time the Union Pacific Railroad transferred her father to North Platte, Nebraska. While in high school in North Platte, during World War II, Colleen volunteered at the North Platte Canteen, helping to provide food to the troops as they passed through the Union Pacific Depot. The family moved again in 1942 to Council Bluffs, Iowa, where Colleen graduated from Lincoln High School in 1943. She loved school, and was an excellent student.

After graduation she worked briefly at the Union Pacific headquarters in Omaha, before becoming a secretary for the Vic Schrader Agency, a musical booking agency, scheduling many well-known Midwest swing and jazz bands. The agency office was located near the local airport, where Colleen took flying lessons and earned a private pilot license. Although she never pursued flying as a pilot, she always loved to fly as a passenger. In April of 1946, Colleen met her husband, Lawrence (Larry) McMillen. They married in Hays, Kansas on October 28, 1946. By the early 1950’s, they had moved to Blair, Nebraska, and were the parents of two daughters, Kim and Laurie. They moved to Loveland, Colorado in 1961, where she began working for the Credit Bureau of Larimer County. She managed the bureau in the 70’s and 80’s until her retirement, and was active in the Credit Women International organization, serving in various positions, including president.

Colleen was a devoted and loving wife, mother, and grandmother. She was a very unselfish, caring and generous person. Her family was of utmost importance to her, and we were all the blessed recipients of her love, which she expressed to us every day, in countless ways. She was delighted to become a grandmother when her grandson Michael was born, and he was blessed with his Gram’s caring, love, dedication and devotion. She was a voracious reader, always having a book at hand, and she instilled that love of reading in her daughters – thank you, dear Mom! She was also a wonderful cook and could make special dishes from just about anything she had on hand in the kitchen. She enjoyed music, playing cards and working on crossword puzzles. When she was younger, she loved golf, often golfing in the ladies’ golf league when she lived Blair. Travel was another activity she enjoyed, especially if it involved flying, and we will always treasure the many special trips we took with her. She was a joy to be around, and the best friend a daughter could ever hope for. She was a beautiful person in every way. A woman of deep faith in God, she counted her blessings each day, and if she said she would pray for you, she meant it. Her litany of nightly prayers was always quite lengthy. Her faith sustained her and gave her strength throughout her life, and she taught us how to be strong. Learning to live without her will require enormous strength. We are grateful to God that He gave her 97 – almost 98 – years of life. It was a life well-lived and we thank the Lord for every moment we spent with her.

Colleen was preceded in death by her parents, five of her siblings, her husband Lawrence McMillen, and daughter Kim McMillen. She is survived by her daughter Laurie Rue, grandson Michael Rue and wife Leah, sister Jeannine Eckermann, and numerous nieces and nephews, to whom she was Aunt Colleen in the Speight family and Aunt Harriett in the McMillen family.

She was a member of Saint John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Loveland, Colorado, where a Mass intention for repose of the soul will be offered for her in early January. A private ceremony for immediate family will be held following cremation and interment at the Loveland Burial Park.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.allnuttloveland.com for the McMillen family.