Obituary

Colleen Kinney, who was beloved for her generous and vivacious approach to life and all those she encountered, died of cancer July 30, 2024, at her home. She was 56.

Colleen traveled the world, ran marathons and achieved a master’s degree but she will be remembered best for her daily acts of kindness toward her family, neighbors, co-workers, supermarket checkout clerks, teachers, refuse collectors - simply anyone who was lucky enough to cross her path.

She was truly interested in others, and far more eager to hear their life stories than share her own opinions. And yet, her life was filled with absolutely wonderful experiences and accomplishments.

Colleen was born Feb. 28, 1968, in Pomona, California, to Don and Mary Beth Kinney. She lived in Texas before moving at age 12 with her mother and three brothers to Keizer, Oregon, where they quickly established themselves as a swimming powerhouse family. The swimming record board at McNary High School for years listed the Kinney name. Colleen also achieved the rare feat of being elected student body president at McNary while out of the country for a nine-month-long exchange in the Philippines.

After high school, Colleen attended Mills College in Oakland, California, where she also swam for the college’s team. Amid her studying, she was a lifeguard at the nearby Claremont Hotel in Berkeley and was a nanny for a couple who would become lifelong friends. Traveling to her jobs, she would zip through the Oakland area on her scooter, much to her mother’s concern. She was at Mills when the devastating Loma Prieta earthquake struck the Bay Area in 1989 and she quickly developed a fascination with the emergency response to the quake. She graduated from Mills with a bachelor of art degree in 1990.

After living at home in Keizer to save money, she and her close friend Susan Lindauer set out for a year-long world trip - thanks in part to Susan’s father Eric Lindauer’s gift of airfare. They traveled throughout Europe - including the Soviet Union amid political turmoil - as well as India, Nepal, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand. Often, they would stay with host families, and they would volunteer wherever they stopped. They landed back in Oregon, exactly a year after they started.

Upon returning, Colleen began working part-time at the Statesman Journal newspaper in Salem, Oregon, and then attended graduate school at Oregon State University. She earned a master’s degree in 1995 with a thesis about community-based disaster planning. She later worked for the Federal Emergency Management Agency before shifting to budget management jobs for the state of Oregon and city of Eugene, Oregon.

Amid all those accomplishments, she resumed a friendship with a colleague from the Statesman Journal and ran in a 10K race with him and other friends in Florence, Oregon. After being overwhelmed by his achievement of finishing 2nd in his age group in the Rhody Run, they began seeing each other and she married Scott McFetridge on March 6, 1999, in Shedd, Oregon. They moved to St. Paul, Minnesota, in 2002, where Colleen worked for the University of Minnesota. A year and plenty of bed rest later, Colleen gave birth to triplets Jack, Mary and Benton, and after only 23 months, Colleen gave birth to Ivy.

The family moved in 2006 to Des Moines, Iowa, where they raised their children amid the world’s best neighbors in the North of Grand Neighborhood. Colleen was the core of the busy family, helping them with crafts, joining them in building snow forts and sitting on the porch while they played Ghost in the Graveyard with other children. She also became busy with neighborhood and historical projects, which occasionally caused her to be late for pickups at Cowles Montessori, but she always made up for it by ensuring they had plenty of treats in the van to eat as they drove home.

Even as she watched over her family, Colleen managed to run marathons and compete in open water swims, including the Sharkfest swim from Alcatraz Island to San Francisco and as part of a team that swam from Catalina Island to the California shoreline.

After the children got older, Colleen was hired by Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management, where she helped to ensure communities throughout Iowa could receive funding to aid in their recovery when disasters hit. She had great respect for her colleagues and was known for her dedication, focus, frequent laugh and ability to navigate at times challenging bureaucratic requirements.

Sadly, as all her children were transitioning into college and Colleen finally had a chance to relax, she was diagnosed with colon cancer. After days of absolute panic, she leaped into what would become 19 months of treatment in Des Moines and at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Unfortunately, the treatment slowed but could not stop the disease.

The loss of Colleen has devastated her family and so many who knew her, but they also know they are lucky to have spent time with a woman so full of joy, empathy, intelligence and humor. She was an incredible woman who seemed to effortlessly set an example for the rest of us.

Colleen is survived by her husband, Scott McFetridge; her four children, Jack, Mary, Benton and Ivy; her mother, Mary Beth Kinney; her father, Donald Kinney; her brothers, Daniel, Stephen, and Mike; her aunts, Anne Hart, Jackie Hunt, Joyce Baker and Janet Butler; her uncle Dick Kinney; and her cousin Jason and several other cousins in western New York, including Rhiannon.

Contributions in Colleen’s name can be made to the food pantry network operated by the Des Moines Area Religious Council.

Arrangements by Iles Dunn's Chapel.

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