Minnie Viola (Collett) Black
,
fo
r
merly of
Grand View
,
passed away at her home
i
n Nampa, Idaho of natural
causes, February 29,2016.
Viola was born August 25
,
1924 to Thomas W
ill
iam
Collett and Minnie Viola (Peterson
)
Collett at home in Burley
, I
daho
.
She moved
to Grand View
i
n 1935 with he
r
family, which included her
brothers
,
Thomas and Harold and sister Ida Mae
.
Viola
attended school at the Hayland School, which was located west of the present S
i
mplot
feed lot, then graduated from Grand V
i
ew High School in 1942
.
Following
graduation Viola attended Links School of Business in Boise
,
then
worked as a civilian truck driver for the Army Air Corps during WWII. Viola
married John Black of Bruneau and they lived in Bruneau for a short time, where
John worked with his father Errol Black on
t
he family ranch
.
John and
Viola purchased a farm in Grand View and moved there in 1950. On move in day,
the mud between the road and the house was so deep that the pickups hauling
furniture had gotten stuck, Errol brought "old pinto" and a harness
down from Bruneau and pulled the pickups from the road to the door of the house
and back to the roa
d.
Move in accomplished! They later sold this farm and moved into
Grand View, living there until they
mo
ved to Boise and then Nampa.
During this time they enjoyed being "Snow birders" trave
li
ng south
to Yum
a
,
Ar
i
zona for the winters. During the years in Grand View
,
V
i
ola
enjoye
d
be
i
ng
"
the Avon sa
l
es Lad
y";
operating
a milk de
l
ivery route through Little Valley
,
C J
Strike Da
m
and G
r
and
V
i
ew; cook
i
ng at the grade school
;
milking cows
;
organizing
a Cub Scout Pack and
w
or
ki
ng as thei
r l
eader
;
organizing the first Horse 4-H Club in Owyhee County
,
the
Owyhee Vaq
uer
os
, w
hich
w
as also a drill
t
eam; remaining as a 4
-
H Horse
Club Leader fo
r
15 years and was
t
he Grand M
ar
shall of
the O
wy
hee County Fair and Rodeo Parade in 2012
.
V
i
ola also
judged numerous horse shows
i
n the area and was the Secretary
of the Owyhee Calf Ropers, which was a group of local ranchers that produced
the yearly Grand V
i
ew Rodeo. One of Mothers cherished hobbies was decorating
wedding, b
i
rthday and 50
th
anniversary
cakes, for re
l
at
i
ves and f
ri
ends
.
Viola and John celebrated 54 years of marriage before his
passing.
Viola was preceded in death by her parents, Thomas William
Collett and Minnie Viola (Peterson) Collett, her husband John Perry Black, her
brothers Thomas Anthony Collett and Harold Edwin Collett and her grandson
Philip Patrick Rahn
.
She is survived by her Sister
,
Ida Mae (Collett) Hill
(Harlan) of Pullman, Washington
;
her children
,
Rayola
Marie (Black) Jacobsen
,
of Boise
,
Idaho
;
Thomas Emmett Black (Fe) of Nampa
, I
daho; and
MaryAnne Black of Jordan Valley
,
Oregon
;
Six
Grandchi
l
dren
,
Fifteen Great Grandchildren
;
Six Great Great G
r
andchi
l
dren;
numerous Nieces and Nephews; G
r
eat Nieces and Nephews and her
acqu
i
red daughter
L
ucille White whom she has
introduced for years as her "white
"
daughter
.