Lorraine Beatrice (Olson) Dinant of Brockton, Mass., and formerly of Houtzdale, died peacefully in her sleep April 19, 2017. She was 97.
Calling hours will be held from 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. Friday at the Birger A. Freeberg Funeral Home Inc., 200 David St., Houtzdale.
A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at the funeral home with the Rev. Andrew “Andy” Jerome officiating. Burial will follow at I.O.O.F. Cemetery in Brisbin.
She was born in Houtzdale to Oscar and Leola (Custer) Olson on Jan. 15, 1920. She attended the former Woodward School in Houtzdale.
She was the loving wife of Lloyd William “Willie” Dinant, with whom she shared 69 years of marriage, many laughs, much love and an abiding faith in God. He preceded her in death in 2006.
She loved to help others and to teach them about Jesus. She was a long-time member of New Hope Christian Fellowship, formerly known as the Primitive Methodist Church, in Houtzdale.
She served as the superintendent of the children’s ministries, organized Vacation Bible School and taught Sunday school for many years.
She was employed at Causer Brothers’ Five and Ten store in Houtzdale and at the Clearfield County Area Agency on Aging.
She enjoyed giving back to her community as she worked with children at the area Head Start program, providing early education and health services, as well as bringing meals to those in need with the local Meals on Wheels program.
She was known for her quick humor, and she loved to visit and laugh with family and friends. She also made, in her family’s opinion, the world’s best pie and blackberry cobbler.
She was preceded in death by her parents and husband; her brothers, Robert “Bob” Olson and Thomas “Tommy” Olson; her sisters, Joyce Finney, Dorothy Horgus and Mary Catherine “Kay” Jones; and her son, William Lloyd “Bill” Dinant.
She is survived by her sister, Eleanor Sefchick of Hudson, Ohio; her daughter, Donna L. (Dinant) Coats and her husband, Rawson “Bud” Coats of Brockton, Massa.; her son, Keith W. Dinant and his wife, Rosemarie Dinant of Hamilton, Mass.; her grandchildren, Audrey L. Coats, Gregory W. Coats and his wife, Nickelle “Nikki” Coats and Noelle (Dinant) Graves and her husband, Michael Graves; and her four great-grandchildren, Jeffrey Coats, Laney Maher and Lili Coats and Michael Graves.