Colleen Frances Frey, of Appleton, died Saturday, November 30, 2013, at her home near Milan, Minnesota at the age of 58.
Colleen was born February 7, 1955 in New Ulm, Minnesota, the daughter of Earl and Verna (Miller) Frey.
She moved with her family to Anoka as a young girl and graduated from Anoka High School in 1973. Colleen received her BA in music education in 1980 from St. Cloud State and her MA in education from the University of Minnesota- Duluth in 2005. She lived in St. Cloud, Grand Marais and Buffalo before moving to the Milan/Appleton area in 2002.
It was in Buffalo, Minnesota that she met her husband, John Tanquist. They were united in marriage August 2, 2002 in Madison, Minnesota.
Colleen was the area’s Blues Queen and played with many bands, finalizing her career with Queen Colleen and the Frey Daddies these past few years. Any musician who played with her knew they were a “daddy” when she took direction of the sound stage.
She is survived by her husband, John Tanquist; her mother, Verna Frey of Anoka, Minnesota; two sisters Denise (Al) Saylor of Anoka, Minnesota and Diane (Brad) McCormick of Zimmerman, Minnesota; two brothers Dwon (Colleen) Frey of Zimmerman and Doug Frey of Isanti, Minnesota; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Colleen lived and worked in Cook County for several years. Along with her work skills, Colleen was an accomplished musician. She played her violin and sang with the Don Juan Trio, and several other groups in Cook County. In her own band, Queen Colleen and the Frey Daddies, she played, sang and produced an album of her original songs called Funky Side.
Colleen’s love of life and music were her greatest attributes.
Please help us celebrate her life and accomplishments. Come out and sing and play and enjoy, and reminisce Colleen’s active, wonderful but too short life. Her celebration of life will be held at Jon and Mary Ofjord’s farm at 428 County Road 14, Grand Marais, in the afternoon of August 24, 2014.
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