Linda Danette Studer

Linda Danette Studer

Linda Danette Studer, 72, of Bonners Ferry, Idaho, passed away May 14, 2019, at Kootenai Health in Coeur d’Alene. Services will be held at 1 p.m. Friday, May 25, 2019, at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bonners Ferry. A celebration of life will follow at Copeland Hall.

She was born Feb. 20, 1947, in Spokane, Wash., to June Ripatti (Collins) and Dan Ripatti. She was raised on the banks of the Kootenai River where she helped her parents ice fish in the winter. She was the eldest of three and enjoyed some of the happiest times in life working and helping her parents and brothers on the farm, playing games and enjoying time spent together. Eventually, high-water on the river pushed the family to move to higher ground on Farm to Market Road. In her senior year at Bonners Ferry High School, she was selected as Miss Bonners Ferry and went on to the state pageant in Boise. After high school, she worked at a local bank for several years and married Bob Myers. There was a brief period when she left the valley to follow her first husband to Nevada, but the Kootenai Valley was really her only true home. They moved back to Bonners Ferry, and in 1974 she had her son Jason, and was a dedicated mother. In the ’80s, she began working for Norman Jensen’s Brokerage house at the border. She found happiness with HC Studer and they married and joined their families.

Danette was an accomplished artist, enjoyed cooking, gardening and fishing with her stepson, Duane and family on Hauser Lake. She had many dedicated and lifelong friends that she loved as family. She found joy in a good story and laughter was her greatest medicine. She retired from work in 2014 when her health began to fail and dictated her move to Coeur d’Alene. She continued to dream of moving home to Bonners Ferry and the valley.

Danette will be lovingly remembered by her son, Jason (Bernadette) Myers; her two grandchildren, Alessandra and Marina; brothers Mike and Steve (Linda) Ripatti; and many nieces, nephews, cousins and stepfamily. She is preceded in death by HC Studer and her parents.