Maxine Courts

Maxine Courts passed into the loving arms of her Savior on Thursday, May 11, 2017, following a brief illness. Celebration of Life Service will be held at 11 AM on Monday, May 15, at the Crosslake Log Church, Crosslake, MN. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service. Private family interment service will be held at a later date.

Maxine E. Courts was born July 17, 1931, to David and Rhoda (Sampson) Collin on a farm northeast of Aitkin, MN. When she was 5 years old her parents moved to Cottonwood County in southwest MN. She accepted the Lord as her Savior at the tender age of 9 and was baptized at Storden Baptist Church.

She attended mostly rural schools through eighth grade, then she went to high school at Windom, where she graduated in 1949. She enjoyed singing in the choir and playing in band in high school and sang in the sextet also. She had the voice of a songbird and throughout her life would bless others with her song. She also taught herself to play piano when she was 5 years old, and could play wonderfully by ear and could read music very well. She would delight the ears of many throughout her life with her piano skills, and used this skill for the glory of her Lord by playing piano and organ in church for many years.

During Maxine's senior year in high school she met the love of her life, Oliver Courts, at the roller-skating rink in Windom, and they were married on June 24, 1949. The Lord blessed their union with 4 sons and 4 daughters. Oliver and Maxine lived on a farm outside Okeene, Oklahoma for the first five years of their married life. They moved to a farm north of Windom in 1954, and lived on several farms in Cottonwood County before moving into Windom in 1975. They lived in Windom until 1984 when they moved to Crosslake, where they owned a small motel for many years before retiring and enjoying the rest of their years in Crosslake. Throughout those years, Maxine was a stay at home Mom, and encouraged her children to sing and learn to play musical instruments, as well as the piano. She loved hearing her children sing and play. She also encouraged them to play sports. She also babysat children in their home in Windom. Maxine had an incredible gift of sewing and sewed everything from clothes to re-covering furniture. Her hobby of quilting resulted in quilts for all her children, grandchildren, most of her great grandchildren, as well as many other relatives and friends. She taught Sunday School and played piano and organ for many years at Jeffers Baptist Church, played piano for Community Bible Church in Windom and for Crosslake Evangelical Free Church in Crosslake.

She is preceded in death by her parents, David and Rhoda (Sampson) Collin; siblings, Everett (and wife Genevieve), Ralph, Charles (and wife Vera), David; brother-in-law, Gordon Berge; and son-in-law, Dan Swenson.

Maxine is survived by her husband of 67 years, Oliver Courts of Crosslake; sister, Ann Berge of Pom-ona, California; sister-in-law, Roxie Collin of Heron Lake; sister-in-law, Ann Collin of Memphis, TN; her eight children which include Mike (LaVerle) of Nisswa, Sam (Mary) of Deer Trail, CO, Deb (Jay) Wathen of Beaumont, TX, Cheryl Swenson of Coleraine, Barry (Diane) of Isidro Casanova, Argentina, Kristi (David) McNeill of Roanoke, VA, Robin (Paul) Burns of Charlotte, NC, and Jody (Lorrie) of Maplewood; 44 grandchildren, 51 great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.

Blessed be the memory of Maxine Courts.