Hildegarde "Dee" Coyle

Hildegarde (Dee) Spanier Coyle, De Pere, passed into eternal life on Tuesday, March 11, 2014, after a valiant 2 year battle with cancer. Dee, 74, is survived by her cherished family: husband Walter (Doc); children: Elizabeth (Todd) Schmitter of Eagan, MN, Jane (Paul) Schillaci of El Paso, TX, Susan (Travis) Myers of Mpls, MN and David Coyle of De Pere; grandchildren, Joshua (Elise), Daniel, Caroline, Paul, Emmanuel and Lydia Schmitter and Natalia, Veronika and Kristof Schillaci; siblings: Maria (Ken) Andoman of CA, Paul (Diane) of IL, and Angie (John) of Milwaukee, their children and grandchildren. Dee graduated from Racine Wm. Horlick High School and UW-Milwaukee. For many years she was a field representative for Federal Government Social Science research, work she greatly enjoyed, whether stranded on Washington Island in winter, chased out of New Orleans by a hurricane or surviving a tornado in Maryland. Seeing the needs of others, often through her job, Dee volunteered in the school; as Brownie Leader and Girl Scout project facilitator and trainer, later worked with Leo Frigo in preparing healthy meals from Paul’s Pantry and surplus commodities, and taught basic cooking classes which led to tutoring in the E.S.L. program. “what you do for the least of my brethren, you do in my name” was the Coyle motto- upon retirement, spending a year in Germany on a Christian mission (with a detour to France and England) and upon return devoted 7 years teaching at GBCI and embraced their St. John’s Homeless Shelter Family with energy and enthusiasm until her health failed. Dee was a consummate vegetable and flower gardener, and many reaped the rewards of her large harvests. As a Heritage Hill volunteer, she spent many a sunrise and sunset alone with the Spirits of Tank Cottage as she transformed a forlorn plot into a showcase. An enthusiastic steward of this beautiful God given earth, Dee was committed to conservation, composting, rain barrels, recycling, and/or reusing and often said “I am stuck in the 1950s and love it! “she radiates with love and joy as she serves the needs of others” -Woman of the Year for the Green Bay/De Pere YWCA. Memorial Services will be held at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 12, 2014 at Blessed Sacrament Church, 825 S. Webster Ave., Green Bay. Cotter Funeral Home, De Pere, is assisting the family. Online condolences may be expressed at www.cotterfuneralhome.com. No flowers please. Donations may be made to Cadence International (cadence.org), a Christian Organization serving the military, or to Blessed Sacrament Building Fund.