Corleta (Corley) Friesen passed away on June 20, 2024, just a month shy of her 94th birthday.

She and her identical twin sister, Marjorie, were born in New York to Charles and Marjorie Gibson and grew up in Mahwah, New Jersey. Corley graduated with a degree in chemistry from Mary Washington College. She also had two masters degrees, one in Social Foundations of Education and one in Reading.

She met her future husband, Ernest Friesen at a wedding in Annapolis, Maryland. They were married nearly 72 years. In that time, they raised four children, and celebrated the arrival of nine grandchildren and two great grandchildren. In all, they lived in 13 different cities, including 6 different states and a year in Birmingham, England.

Corley contributed to her community in countless ways. In the 1960s, she became active in the League of Women Voters and volunteered for Head Start in the Washington, D.C. area. She was a Girl Scout and Camp Fire Girl leader.  She started youth soccer for girls in Colorado in the 1970s and coached one of its first teams. For a time, in the 1970s, she was a volunteer probation worker. Later she served as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) in Summit County, sang in the community choir, participated in book groups, and taught bridge classes at the Summit County Community Center. After moving to the Denver Metro area in 2010, she joined the First Universalist Church of Denver and worked for its Care Society, providing transportation and home/hospital visits to members in need of support.

Corley's employment also touched many lives. She worked with students with dyslexia and helped adults work toward their GEDs at the Job Corps in San Diego. For the last fifteen years of her teaching career, she worked as a middle school science teacher for the Sweetwater School District at the US/Mexico border.

A memorial service will be held Saturday, September 7, 2024 at 10:00 a.m. at Washington Park United Church of Christ, 400 S. Williams, Denver, CO 80209.