BRINY BREEZES — Connie Oleson liked to paint furniture and give it to friends. She liked long walks up and down Old Ocean Boulevard. She liked fishing in the surf in front of the Briny Breezes clubhouse.
Most of all, she liked people, and people liked her.
“She was a heckuva gal,” said Mayor Roger Bennett, a longtime neighbor and friend on Hibiscus Drive. “She was a hard-charging gal, and tough as nails.’’
Ms. Oleson brought that same spirit to a long battle with cancer, which ended on Jan. 25 when she died at home, surrounded by her family. She was 71.
She had been admitted to Bethesda Memorial Hospital on Christmas Eve, but was able to return home Jan. 3, where she was cared for by family, neighbors and hospice workers.
“At the end she was comfortable,” said her daughter, Sandra Chlebowski, of Cary, N.C. “Her breath gave out and she died peacefully.”
Among those with her at the end was John Hughes, her partner. The two met as neighbors in Briny Breezes, and went on to share their lives. He was from Canada, she from Michigan, and the couple vacationed in both spots before her illness, as well as New Hampshire and Maine.
“She was very outgoing, and knew everybody there was to know. She just had that kind of personality where people would open up to her, and become friends,” Hughes recalled. “She was somebody who was interested in you, and a very caring person.”
Constance Forbes Oleson was born on Aug. 29, 1939, in Jackson, Mich., and graduated from Jackson High School in 1957.
In July 1959, she married John W. Bannasch Jr., who died in 1977. From 1977 to 1999, she was married to David Philips, and later wed Eric Oleson, who died in 2007.
During her working life, Ms. Oleson was a fundraiser for medical organizations, most recently as executive director of the WakeMed Foundation in Raleigh, N.C., from which she retired in 2004.
She was a seasonal resident of Briny Breezes starting in 1997 and came to stay year-round after her retirement.
Her four daughters will be third-generation owners in Briny.
In addition to Mr. Hughes and Ms. Chlebowski, she is survived by three other daughters, Cynthia Laing, of Naples; Mary B. Crookes, of Wilmington, N.C.; and Pamela B. Kastl of Apex, N.C.; five grandchildren; and two sisters, Dee Rappleye of Norton, Mich., and Audrey Worth of Clarklake, Mich.
A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. on Feb. 20 at the Briny Breezes ocean clubhouse, overlooking her favorite fishing spot.
In lieu of flowers, Ms. Oleson asked that donations be made to Hospice of Palm Beach County, the American Cancer Society, or the Palmetto Elementary (Collier County) 100 Book Challenge.
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