Obituary of Terri Catherine Boling

Terri Boling, 73, of Bonney Lake went to be in the arms of the Lord August 7, 2023. She was born February 13, 1950 in Chewelah, Washington to Sam and Rita Ferraro.

Terri is survived by her mother, Rita Ferraro; daughter, Angela Queen; grandson, Kory Queen and his wife Sydney; great-grandsons, Isaiah, Oliver, and Jasper Queen; son, Norvin Collins and his wife Holly; and granddaughter, Annika Collins. She also leaves behind her honorary grandsons, Milton Stewart, Dee Gibbs, and Caleb McCurry; her loyal dog, Cleo; countless others who considered her a second mom or grandma; and an abundance of other friends and family.

She was incredibly crafty and had some kind of project going on at all times – most of the time for birthday, Christmas, or ‘just because’ gifts. If something required creativity and a skillful hand, she excelled at it: crocheting, knitting, embroidery, cross stitching, sewing, coloring, cooking – she could do it all. Her creative bent primed her to flourish as a manager at Michaels – where she retired from earlier this year and where she was lovingly referred to as “Queen Bee” from those she worked with. Working at Michaels also gave her an abundance of opportunities to spoil her great-grandsons, Isaiah, Oliver, and Jasper, with craft projects and art supplies.

For eleven years, she got to live with her daughter and best friend, Angela. Their favorite thing to do together was travel. They explored all over the Pacific Northwest, took cross country road trips, visited numerous National Parks together, and went on a couple of international trips. Their most recent adventure was traveling to Southeast Asia in March of this year and was a highlight trip for them both. They also loved to do Bible studies together – sharing their love for God and His Word.

During her final years, though, she lived with Kory, Sydney, Isaiah, Oliver, and Jasper. She brought such joy and sweetness into their lives, and she used every opportunity she could to find ways to spoil the five of them – zoo trips, circus trips, “made from scratch” meals, family games, etc. She always held Kory’s hand at church and she loved to get goodnight kisses on the forehead from him. She was constantly telling Sydney how much she loved to hear her play piano and loved to make jokes back and forth with her.

Isaiah, Oliver, and Jasper were crazy about their ‘Nammah.’ They argued over who got to sit by her at church or who got to hold her hand in the parking lot or who could give her the best hugs. They spent countless hours outside talking to her on the back porch and showing off their ninja moves for her. She spent the summer creating a homeschooling curriculum to lead a “Handicrafts with Nammah” class to teach them how to sew, make blankets, make socks, and other priceless skills. Unfortunately, they only got to glean from her preparation once, but they all said it was the best thing they ever got to do for school.

One of her most prized possessions was a basket of flowers she received from her son, Norvin, last year for Mother’s Day. Even though the flowers dried up, she never threw them away – she proudly displayed them in her room.

As much as she loved her family, she loved the Lord even more. She even told Angela, “You can’t tell me you love me the most because Jesus loves me the most” so they began telling each other “I love you second most.” On March 7, 2012, she completely gave her life to Jesus and her grandson, Kory, got the high honor of getting to baptize her. She faithfully loved and served God from that day on.

She had the sweetest spirit with a sweet tooth to match. She loved to confound even her own Rook partner when she threw down her 14s at unexpected times, and she could never have enough Cup Noodles in her room. If she wasn’t crafting something, you could find her cozied up in her robe and fuzzy socks reading or watching crime shows. She was gentle, selfless, and thoughtful. She had the cutest and most harmless sass and a wonderful sense of humor. Her smile was infectious, and her soul was pure and good. If you truly knew her, you couldn’t help but to deeply love the beautiful woman she was. She will be forever missed this side of Heaven.