Jean Lauer Nyquist, 91, of Erie, Colorado died at 12:04 pm, Sunday, August 14, 2022 at Saint Anthony North Hospital in Westminster, Colorado.  She died of complications related to her digestive system.

Jean was born in Seneca on August 17, 1930, the daughter of Cyril J. and Geneva C. Severin Lauer.  She grew up in Seneca and graduated from Saints Peter and Paul High School in 1948.  During those years, she assisted her family with their business, the Lauer Funeral Home.

After graduation, Jean attended St. Louis University working in the university hospital and at St. Mary’s Hospital graduating with a Registered Nurse (RN) degree.  As an RN she worked in Kansas City at Saint Luke’s and North Kansas City Hospitals.  She married Gaylord W. Colle, a Red Cross water safety instructor, on April 10, 1954, whom she had met at a Boy Scout camp where she was a nurse.  They had five children, Collette, Gregg, Janelle, Christopher, and Annette.  During this time, the family lived in Kansas City eventually moving to Rapid City, South Dakota where Jean continued working as a floor nurse and started working in nursing homes.

In 1968, the family moved to Denver, CO where Jean worked for several decades in Denver hospitals including Lutheran and Saint Anthony Central as a floor nurse and in the Emergency Room (ER). Eventually, she trained and became an operating room nurse at both Saint Anthony Central and Saint Anthony North Hospitals.  During the time she was at St. Anthony North Hospital, she traveled to several cities in Russia to teach modern surgical procedures to Russian operating room.

Jean attended Regis College in Denver during the 1970s, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Women’s Studies in 1977.  In 1979, she and Mr. Colle divorced.

Jean went to Saudi Arabia in 1983 to work in the operating room theater in the King Khalid University Hospital, remaining there for three years.  While there, she met Philip J. Nyquist, a mechanical engineer working for the Saudi Arabian government.  During their vacations, Jean and Phil traveled extensively throughout Europe. They returned to the United States and were married on December 13, 1986 in Fort Walton Beach, Florida.  She worked at the HCA Florida Fort Walton-Destin Hospital until Phil’s death on July 29, 1990.  After Phil’s death, she worked at numerous hospitals throughout the United States as a traveling operating room nurse.

After retiring from work as a nurse, Jean settled in Cameron, South Carolina (SC) working part-time as an assistant in the dermatology practice of her son, Gregg, in Orangeburg, SC.  She also found part-time jobs in sales related to nut and strawberry production as well as the shipment of gift baskets.  For a couple of years, Jean worked as a docent at the Columbia Museum of Art.

She moved to Travelers Rest, SC just outside of Greenville in 2004 and, later, found work at Internal Medicine Associates (IMA) of Greenville, SC in their Medical Records Department; she remained employed there until she was 86 years old. During her time in Travelers Rest, she was a very active member of St. Anthony of Padua Church in Greenville participating in the church ministries including church cleaning and working in the Food Pantry.

In 2017, Jean moved to Erie, Colorado to live with her daughter, Collette, and son-in-law, Clarke Chambellan.  Throughout her life, Jean was a voracious reader of history and enjoyed museums and music.

Jean was proceeded in death by her husband Philip Nyquist and brother, David Lauer of Seneca.  Survivors include:  Daughters Collette Chambellan, her husband Clarke of Erie, Colorado, Janelle Shiner, her husband Steve of Duncan, South Carolina, and Annette Colle of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; sons Gregg Colle, his wife Lisa of Beaufort, South Carolina, and Chris Colle, his wife Vickie of Idaho Springs, Colorado; grandchildren Adrien Chambellan, his wife Agnieszka and great grandchildren Vincent and Elise, Megan Chambellan, Jacob Shiner, his wife Amy, Eric Shiner, Leland Shiner, his wife Amanda, Christopher Colle, Jr., and Kyla and Brynn Ewers.  Two brothers, Don Lauer of Albuquerque, NM and Jim Lauer, his wife Nancy of San Antonio, TX; and sister-in-law, Sally Lauer of Seneca, KS.

Cremation will take place at the Darrell Howe Mortuary in Lafayette, Colorado.  Donations may be sent in her name to Saint Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in Greenville.