Solveig Haugland

Solveig Laura Haugland passed away at age 48 of natural causes on August 9th in Lafayette, Colorado. Solveig was born in Boulder, Colorado, the daughter of Palmer and Ethelyn Haugland. She grew up in Juneau, Alaska and Kalispell, Montana, graduating from Flathead High School in 1985. At Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, Solveig toured with the Concordia College choir and received a BA in French and Communications in 1989. She worked as a technical writer and editor for Great Plains Software, and in 1997, moved to Lafayette to work as a course developer for Sun Microsystems. She authored over twenty books, including the Open Office Guidebook, and used her knack for explaining complex processes in simple and humorous terms to pen several nontechnical books such as Dating Power Tools. Solveig loved snowshoeing, skiing, camping, hiking in and around Estes Park, and returning home to her two cats. She hashed with sartorial flair with the Flatlanders and Boulder Hashers; she danced Lindy Hop and the Blues; and she played a mean hand of euchre or whist. A knitter of astonishing speed, skill, and originality, she masterminded several popular local knit-bombs. She was a fearless formulator of witty songs and original cocktails, serving up both with generosity, to the delight of many. Passionate about social justice, she entertained friends and infuriated foes on Facebook in well-reasoned and witty arguments for civil rights. Solveig visited Kalispell often to spend time with her parents; their relationship was one of great kindness and mutual respect, and later in her parents' lives, she cared for them with strength and compassion. Solveig lived life with originality, intelligence, irrepressible wit, a sense of adventure, and a boundless consideration for those she loved. She had a keen appreciation of the ludicrous, and would have snorted with delight that an obituary can sound so much like a dating site profile. She is survived by several cousins and many friends. A memorial service is planned in her honor for September 12th in Boulder, Colorado. Contributions may be made in her memory to the Society of Women Engineers. She will be missed.