2 Broadcaster Press May 10, 2016 www.broadcasteronline.com USD First Lady Colette Abbott Passes Away By Shauna Marlette and Randy Dockendorf Yankton Media, Inc. The Charlie Coyote statue has provided a place for many University of South Dakota celebrations. Wednesday night, Charlie offered a gathering spot for hundreds of mourners grieving the death of USD First Lady Colette Abbott. Abbott, the wife of USD President Jim Abbott, died unexpectedly Wednesday afternoon at age 59. At 7 p.m., the lawn in front of the Coyote, next to the Muenster University Center, was filled with mourners, many of them students fighting back tears. The Coyote mascot was adorned by red and white garlands, with more flowers at its base. A large photo displayed the Abbotts at a USD event. President Abbott and his daughter, Sarah, appeared at the impromptu vigil. He jokingly alluded to the USD finals week, now under way, with graduation set for Saturday at the DakotaDome. "I am pretty sure that what Colette would say to you students right now is, ‘You best study for your finals so you get a better grade point than I had,’" Abbott said. "Colette really did love everything about the University. It was a great day for her when we came here and it was a great day every day. It is always a great day to be a Coyote. Nobody exemplified that more than she, that particular sentiment." Colette Abbott would exhort the USD faithful to join together as part of the Coyote family, her husband said. "I think some people make the world a better place just because of the way they are and her nature was to love everybody," Abbott said. "I really don’t recall her ever telling me she didn’t like somebody. Once in a while she would say that and then she would go, ‘Well, I am probably wrong about that.’ It just wasn’t her way. She always found the best in everybody. "Michelle had it only half right (referencing a statement made earlier by Michelle VanMaanen, Chair of the USD Media and Journalism about witnessing Colette passion for Coyote sports.) If it was a good call she would still complain, as long as it was against the Coyotes. I always said, ‘Colette if the (USD) player pulled a pistol out of his holster and shot a player on the opposing team you would say, ‘What? What? That can’t possibly be a foul.’" President Abbott said it was a very hard day for him and his family. However, he felt uplifted by the show of support on the USD campus and in the Vermillion community. "We’ll get through it together," he told the audience. Receiving The News Throughout the day an outpouring of shock and grief filled the Vermillion community and the state as word of Colette’s passing spread. Vermillion Emergency Medical staff received a call shortly after noon on Wednesday and responded to the Abbott household. About an hour later an email was sent out to USD staff and students from University Relations informing the community of her death. It also stated that Mrs. Abbott recently been diagnosed with cancer and was awaiting surgery. President Abbott has requested privacy for his family at this time, the email added. Sami Zoss, former USD Student Government Association President, who graduates this Saturday, said she saw the emergency responders but never thought it would be for Mrs. Abbott. "We were on our way to Sioux Falls and had to pull over for all of the emergency vehicles in town flying by," she said. "But there has been so much going on, so we didn’t think anything of it. Then on my way to Sioux Falls we got a call asking if we knew anything about Colette and President Abbott and asking if there was something going on. "I had known she had cancer and I knew it had gotten around, but you really didn’t know who knew. I didn’t feel it was up to me to tell anyone, so I asked her what she meant. They said there were a bunch of paramedics going into the house. That is when I knew something was wrong. I was hoping it was just a complication of some sort. Then about five minutes later I got a call saying she was airlifted, and then another five minutes and we got the email." Leaders of the community of Vermillion were shocked by the news of her passing. "I think anytime you lose such a great beam of energy and a great person like that, your heart is hurting," said Nate Welch, Vermillion Chamber and Development Company executive director. "You are not only just losing that person, but you are losing that leader. It is just painful to have that. "You feel for Jim especially and the loss that he is feeling," he added. "You want to do something but you don’t know what all you can do. All we can do is just be there for him and be around him and hope that, that is enough. I think an amazing way to pay tribute to a person like that is just to keep moving, keep building." As word of her death reached beyond Vermillion, remembrances poured in. "Jean and I send our deepest condolences to Jim, their family and the entire USD community," said Sen. Mike Rounds, who defeated Jim Abbott in the 2002 gubernatorial race, in a press release. "Colette dedicated her life to her family and bettering education for South Dakota young people. She touched countless lives throughout the years. Her kindness and generosity will be missed by all." Governor Dennis Daugaard released the following statement. "I first met Colette Abbott 25 years ago when she and Jim hosted a fundraiser for Children’s Home Society" he said. "She and Jim continued their support over the years and Colette joined the board and was an advocate for abused and neglected children and battered women. Linda and I were shocked and saddened to learn of the loss of this great South Dakota woman. Her family will be in our thoughts and prayers." Vermillion mayor Jack Powell said she will be missed. "She showed such an enthusiasm and fervor, not only for the University, but for the whole community," he said. "She was a tremendous supporter and worked tirelessly under the auspices of the president’s office. She was very willing to host anything in the community and she served on boards that promote the Ponca Community university and community. She benefited others with her leadership." According to USD relations, Colette Pugh grew up in Pierre and attended USD. She married James Abbott in 1987. They have three adult daughters and two grandchildren. He became USD president in 1997. As first lady, she hosted people at the president’s house and joined him at numerous university events. She was also active in numerous local and statewide community organizations, including the Children’s Home Society, Children’s Home Foundation, South Dakota Community Foundation, National Music Museum, Farber Fund Board and South Dakota Symphony. Colette Abbott was an avid runner and founded and hosted South Dakota’s first Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in 2008 at the DakotaDome. The series of runs and fitness raises money and awareness for the fight against breast cancer. "Colette was so much a part of USD," said Jim Moran, USD provost and vice president for academic affairs. "We always took notice of her enthusiasm that helped make each event she attended so special. We remember her as a solid basis of support, not just for President Abbott, but for each and every one of us whose lives she touched. We will remember her cheering at the basketball games, her greeting students at the last night finals week breakfast, and her welcoming smile at all of the presidential functions she hosted. USD will not quite be the same for a time, but for now we focus on our sympathy and prayers for President Abbott and his family." A Community Grieves Together Wednesday night’s vigil was a mixture of grief, happy memories and shedding of tears. One couple in the audience credited Jim Abbott with bringing them together. Renee Albright and Bailey Aalfs told the Press & Dakotan they attended USD in the 1950s but attended the school at different times and never met each other. But thanks to President Abbott, the couple met years later and are now engaged. Albright, a Yankton native, serves as the house mother of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority on the USD campus. She offered her memories of Colette Abbott during Wednesday’s brief program. Albright recalled moments such as viewing Colette’s engagement ring or her passion cheering for Coyote teams on the sidelines. "Colette so loved the U.," Albright said. "She was a gracious hostess and such a charming woman." Colette showed such a zest for life, whether it was running road races or encouraging all those she met, Albright said. "She was such a wonderful person to get to know," Albright said. "It’s so shocking to see somebody at 59 be denied (more years of life)." Colette TREE TRIMMING, REMOVALS & TRANSPLANTING had commented TREES FOR SALE earlier in the EVERGREEN • SHADE • ORNAMENTAL week that Yankton 605-260-1490 she wasn’t Hartington 402-254-6710 feeling well, Albright said. Serving Southeast SD & Northeast NE for 20 Years However, CoKent & Kyle Hochstein • Licensed Arborists lette enjoyed www.hartingtontree.com Hartington Tree LLC Saturday May 14th 8 am - 2 pm Your New Home At... Westbrook Estates Located On West City Limits Road one last joyous moment Wednesday morning – touring the nearly-completed USD athletic fieldhouse. Jim and Colette Abbott shared a special love, and Albright wasn’t surprised to see him at Wednesday night’s vigil. "Jim felt it was important to be here," she said. "Colette was such a special person." Ted Muenster, former president of the University of South Dakota Foundation, said "Colette’s death is like a light going out, like a beacon going out." "She was so charming and gracious and positive about things," he said. "She was a beautiful woman in every respect. Energetic, charming, I don’t think Jim would mind me saying if we had to pick one of them to be the face of the University it would be her and not him. She was just one of those people that walks into the room and just commands the room, because of her glow." Muenster credited Colette for working tirelessly for the University. "I have known Jim for more than 30 years or so, he has always been a wonderful civic minded individual, lover of the arts, but he really didn’t know much about sports," he said. "He really didn’t care much about sports when he came over here to be president. She dragged him into the games and taught him about the games. Now he is a full-fledged Coyote sports fanatic. It was fun to see that transition from somebody who didn’t care much about sports and is now very dedicated to it. "We have some wonderful new facilities and are going to be doing some renovations to the Dome," he added. "These are all wonderful things for the staff and students of the University and Colette was a very big part of that." For the students, Zoss said that Wednesday’s vigil was vital to the student’s grieving process. "This was so important," she said. "Knowing President Abbott it doesn’t surprise me that he was here. Knowing the nature of vigils, it does surprise me. I also know how much he has to do right now, everything with the University. We are just closing up for the year, graduation is Saturday and this just happened today. It is so important for all of the students." Zoss said that many students are not sure they should be grieving because they didn’t know Colette personally. "Even if you didn’t know her, she was there for you. She loved every single student who walked through these doors. So, I think this vigil was necessary for those students who were on that line between is it ok for me to be grieving someone I didn’t know, because it absolutely is." Looking forward, Zoss said she doesn’t know what Saturday’s graduation will feel like with the loss of Mrs. Abbott. "Graduation is going to be sad, very surreal," she said. "You just don’t have a USD event without Colette, you just don’t. I don’t know if I have an idea of what the school will do or should do, but I know I want them to do something to remember her and I want it to be lasting. "I don’t know if that is a whole building in her name or a tradition we start in her name, whatever it is it needs to be big." Graduating? Check out the Broadcaster for local employment opportunities today! bp Since 1934 Broadcaster Press 201 W. 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