Colleen Bos

Colleen (Szymanski) Sluga Bos, age 77, of Jenison, Michigan, formerly of the Chicago area, died peacefully with family by her side after a battle with ALS on Thursday, April 1, 2021. She was born February 3, 1944, in Franklin Park, Illinois, to the late Stanley and Laverne (Wentworth) Szymanski. In 1970, Colleen and Dennis J. Sluga married, and they have two children, Victoria and Dan. Although divorced in 1980, Colleen and Dennis remained good friends, raising their children together, attending and celebrating special family events. In 1986 she married Henry R. Bos, thereby bringing the Sluga Bos ("Bugaslos") families together. Colleen found so much joy and shared her passions through many interests, including antiques, collecting, crafting, and genealogy, leading to her being a Daughter of the Revolution, gift-giving, working, volunteering, and faith. Most of all, she deeply loved her family and dear friends, including Angie Zajac, Carolyn Strapoli, and Ed Murphy. She wrote beautiful, heart-filled notes, expressed her feelings freely and recalled cherished memories of time spent with family and old and new friends. Her sense of humor made us all laugh. At Christmas, with a gleam in her eye, she was the first to crumple wrapping paper to throw it at an unsuspecting family member across the room. Before long, the house was filled with laughter, banter, and everyone throwing pieces of paper at each other. Her gift of storytelling and the stories she told are legendary and are something that her kids and grandkids will never forget. She made holidays and birthdays extra special by baking wonderful cookies, treats, and cakes. The cakes always tasted so good, but even better were the decorations. They were always a surprise, but we knew it would be funny, and we looked forward to seeing her creations with anticipation. She gave us the tradition of singing Happy Birthday as loud, off-key, and awful as possible. Her joy was visible as glee in her eyes as we get ready for another birthday celebration. As a wife, mother, grandmother, and friend, Colleen made every day special because of her thoughtfulness, care, and kind heart. Some of her most fond memories were working in the Loop, downtown Chicago, tracking down unknown links in the family trees, volunteering in many different capacities, including Congressman Henry Hyde's campaign and the Salvation Army. She and Hank loved driving around town (sometimes getting lost), seeing new sites, sharing a meal at local restaurants, and finding treasures together. Colleen was a gifted, self-taught seamstress, making special blankets for her children, grandchildren, and friends. Her creativity allowed her to create beautiful crafts that she gave away to bless others and make them happy. Survivors include her husband of 35 years, Hank Bos; her children, Victoria Renee (Brad Allen) Sluga and Daniel Dennis (Carrie) Sluga; Hank's children, Tracy (Rod) Bruner, Dennis Bos, Matthew (Julie) Bos, and Brian Bos; grandchildren, Aili, Frank, Gwen, and Mary Grace Sluga and Nathaniel, Haleigh, and Anneka Bos; and her cats, Arthur and Dutchy. Colleen was preceded in death by her parents, two brothers Bill and Jim, and numerous cats. Per her wishes, cremation has taken place. An announcement will be shared about a memorial to be held at a later date. Memorial contributions may be sent to Love Inc. (https://www.loveinthenameofchrist.org), All God's Children Honduras (https://allgodschildrenhonduras.org/), or any cat rescue of your choosing. Cremation arrangements are entrusted to Michigan Cremation & Funeral Care, Grand Rapids, 616-452-3006. To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Colleen Bos, please visit our flower store.