*SERVICE TIMES HAVE BEEN ADDED*

Harriet Colby died on Thursday, April 30, 2026.  She was 96 years old.

Harriet Jean Colby, known to everyone simply as Jean, was born at home on February 18, 1930, to Case and Adeline Nieboer, on a rutabaga farm near Hinckley, Minnesota.

Jean received her early education in a one-room schoolhouse through seventh grade, then rode the school bus ten miles to Sandstone each day, graduating from Sandstone High School in 1947. She began her working life as a bank teller in Pine City before moving to Minneapolis, where she worked as a secretary in the Betty Crocker Test Kitchens at General Mills.

In 1953, Jean married the love of her life, Dick Colby, and together they made their home in Bloomington, MN, where they raised two children and made many lifelong friends. Jean filled those years with the things she loved most: reading, sewing, playing bridge, golfing, baking, canning, making jam, doing jigsaw puzzles, and tackling the daily crossword and crypto quip puzzles (always in ink). She loved Minnesota sports and rarely missed a Twins, Vikings or Lynx game on television.

After retirement, Dick and Jean spent summers at their cabin on Grindstone Lake, where Dick fished and grew an impressive vegetable garden, and Jean cooked and canned what he caught and harvested.

Eight years ago, Jean moved to Eagan Pointe Senior Living, where she settled into independent living, making new friends quickly, as she had all her life.

Jean is lovingly survived by her children Mike Colby (Angie) and Sue Schoepke (Mark); grandson Sam; brother Bob Nieboer (Carol); sister-in-law Bev Colby; cousin Judy Seidmeyer (Steve); and many nieces, nephews, and friends.

Jean was preceded in death by her parents, Cornelius (Case) and Adeline Nieboer; her husband, Dick Colby; and her sisters, Betty Radtke and Dorothy Nieboer Vos.

A memorial service will be held on Wednesday, June 24, 2026, at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Burnsville, MN. Visitation will be at 1:00pm, with the memorial service at 2:00pm. Coffee and cookies will be served following the service.

Interment will take place at a later date at Spring Park Cemetery in Sandstone, MN.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a memorial to Osprey Wilds Environmental Learning Center in Sandstone, MN.

Arrangements by Methven Funeral and Cremation Services of Sandstone, MN.