Darlene Cathrine Vincent

Darlene Cathrine Clark Vincent, 83, passed away at her home in Sandpoint, Idaho on August 23, 2025.

Darlene was born on July 1, 1942, in Klamath Falls, Oregon, the only child of Pauline Cathrine Beasley Clark and Earl Dare Clark. She attended Shasta Elementary and Altamont Jr. High School and graduated from Klamath Union High School in 1960. She developed a special fondness for the outdoors, as her childhood years were filled with weekend fishing expeditions in the summer, hunting trips in the fall and skiing excursions in the winter.

Upon graduation from high school, she attended Good Samaritan School of Nursing in Portland, Oregon for three years, which set her on a lifelong path in the nursing profession. It was while she was attending nursing school that she met Reed LaVell Vincent. On August 18, 1961, LaVell and Darlene eloped and were married in Stevens, Washington. Their marriage was later sealed in the Manti, Utah temple on December 18th, 1971.

LaVell and Darlene lived in St. Anthony, Idaho while LaVell attended Ricks College. From there, they moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, where Darlene worked at Holy Cross Hospital. They then moved to Lehi, Utah and later to Orem, Utah while they both attended Brigham Young University. Darlene graduated from BYU with a nursing degree in 1971. With three young daughters in tow, they moved to the wild beauty of northern Idaho where they established a home and a dairy farm north of Sandpoint, near Samuels, with LaVell’s parents.

The small dairy, nestled in an unlikely spot in the North Idaho forest, became her home and her refuge where she and LaVell nurtured and raised a family of three daughters, three sons and a foster son. While her husband worked on the farm, Darlene continued her career as a registered nurse. Over the next four decades, she worked at Bonner General Hospital in Sandpoint and Kootenai Medical Center in Coeur d'Alene.

After she retired from nursing, Darlene, LaVell and foster son Ronnie spent the winter months in Apache Junction, Arizona, but they always returned home to North Idaho for the summer months.

Darlene was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She served in various capacities, including: young women’s program, humanitarian aid, genealogical extraction and girls’ camp nurse. She was also a dedicated volunteer in the Bonner County 4-H program. She loved to sew, tat, knit, and crochet and was known for her beautiful handcrafted quilts. Her children, in-laws, grandchildren and great-grandchildren were all grateful recipients of her thoughtfully-made quilts, blankets and Christmas stockings.

As a nurse, an administrator and as a mother and grandmother, she was nurturing, caring and empathetic, yet she always knew where to draw the line. To her posterity, she bequeathed a fond appreciation for nature and the bonds of family. A deep, abiding love for her Savior and her steadfastness in His gospel were the guiding principles of her life. The sincerest hope of her heart was that her children and grandchildren would each foster a personal relationship with Christ, just as she had.

She was preceded in death by her husband and her parents. She is survived by her six children: Michelle (Paul) Marchant, Shauna (Michael) Bailey, Cathrine (Ray) Hunsaker, Jonathan (Kassie) Vincent, Jeremy (Laura) Vincent and Jared (Lindsay) Vincent, foster son, Ronald Edwards, 26 grandchildren and 24 great-grandchildren

Funeral services, under direction of Coffelt Funeral home and conducted by Chad Loutzenhiser, will be held at 10:00 a.m. on August 30, 2025. Visitation will be from 9:00 to 9:45 a.m. prior to services. Interment will be at Pack River Cemetery.