Nola was born in her grandparents' home near Victor, Idaho, on October 28, 1920. She was the oldest of four children surviving infancy, born to Thomas Wooley Cherry and Libby Adele (Della) Hatch Cherry. She grew up on a farm by the side of the highway one mile north of Victor. The farm is long gone, but the land is now Trail Creek Nursery and the log cabin that was once her home still stands as part of the nursery's landscaping.

Nola was known for being a hard worker all her life. As a young girl, she helped with chores on the farm, worked on her father's milk route and had major responsibilities in caring for her younger siblings. In summers she would ride horses into the mountains, hauling supplies to her father and his sheepherders.

Nola was a star on the Victor High School and the town's girls basketball teams. After high school she worked as a housekeeper at the Victor Hotel, as a waitress at Scott's Café in the hotel, at the post office, and a the Victor drug store in the hotel and later across the street (now the Victor Emporium). It was while working at Alpha's café that she met the love of her life, a young soldier returning from the European front, who came to Victor to work in the Fox Creek rock quarry. Nola and Thadeus James (Jim) Albiston were married November 12, 1946, and were inseparable companions until Jim's death on January 17, 2001. The marriage was later solemnized in the Idaho Falls LDS Temple.

Jim and Nola took over the family farm in 1948. In 1950, they adopted their only child, Renae. While on the farm, Nola cared for the farm animals, milked cows, gardened and cooked many meals on a wood-burning cast iron stove for lambing, shearing, and threshing crews. She had a reputation as an excellent cook and candy maker, and everyone knew that with everything she did, she did it exceptionally well. In 1956, the family stopped farming and moved to Victor. Nola then worked as a waitress at the Timberline Café. In 1962, the family moved to Lincoln, where Jim worked at the U&I Sugar Factory, and Nola worked at Slusser Wholesale until retiring in 1983.

Nola and Jim loved camping, fishing and cutting firewood for home heating. They planted and grew a large, beautiful garden, and Nola spent many long days canning and freezing vegetables. Nola lovingly grew and tended her flower beds and added many special touches' to her spotlessly clean home. She was a seamstress extraordinaire, embroidering, appliqueing quilts by hand, making most of her daughter's clothes throughout childhood and crocheting countless afghans, pillows and other items for friends and family.

Cancer and other health concerns required several hospital visits and brief stays in care facilities these past three years. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, an brothers Milo and Floyd. She is survived by her sister, Irene Trujillo (Gillette, Wyoming); sisters- and brother-in-law; cousins; nieces and nephews; and her daughter, Renae Albiston, and beloved cat, Emmie, at the family home.

An informal graveside services will be at 2 p.m., Friday, January 5, 2007, at Victor Cemetery, Victor, Idaho. Those who attend are encouraged to dress comfortably and to share thoughts and memories about Nola. The family will receive friends from 6-8 p.m., Thursday, January 4, 2007, at Coltrin Mortuary, 2100 First Street. The family also wishes to express appreciation to the countless health and care providers, especially Western Visiting Nurses and Riverview Assisted Living Center, for the loving care and support given to Nola and her family. Condolences may be sent to the family online at www.coltrinmortuary.com