POST FALLS - Dianne Triplett died doing what she loved.

The 61-year-old Post Falls woman died after a falling tree struck her on Sunday while hiking with a friend west of Libby, Mont.

"She had a hiking book that was so dog-eared and worn from combing through it," said Mary Hamilton, Triplett's supervisor at work at Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane. "She was so into her hiking.

"One of the gals who worked with her on the evening shift told a story about how a topic of conversation during her last working night on Friday was about death. Dianne believed your soul goes somewhere else when you die, and I'm just hoping her soul is in those beautiful mountains where she loved to be."

Roby Bowe with the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office said Triplett was hit by a tree - 10 inches in diameter - on the Cedar Lakes Trail that crosses U.S. Forest Service Land at the northern end of the Cabinet Mountains about 5 miles down the trail. Her friend ducked under a nearby log and suffered minor injuries.

A forest fire burned the area in 2000, and numerous blackened snags remain along the trail.

Bowe said several years ago, a horse was spooked by a falling tree and threw its rider, who suffered broken ribs and a punctured lung. More recently, a man was hit by a tree in the area and lost the use of his arm.

Bowe said Triplett stopped breathing after the burned-out tree landed on her.

The male friend performed cardio-pulmonary resuscitation on Triplett for more than an hour before walking about 2 miles to Upper Cedar Lake to find help, Bowe said.

A 911 call wasn't made until about two hours after the accident because the caller had to travel about 6 miles to get cell phone service, Bowe said.

Libby Volunteer Ambulance and David Thompson Search and Rescue responded, and Triplett was pronounced dead at the scene.

Triplett had been a sterile processing technician at Sacred Heart for about six years.

"She was one of our best technicians and was used to train new employees," Hamilton said. "She was a great worker with good people skills. She cared deeply about our patients and she always wanted to do the right thing."

Hamilton described Triplett, who also enjoyed gardening, as being honest, upbeat and athletic. She was a widow with three daughters, including twins.

"The woman did not look a day over 50," Hamilton said.

Co-worker Barbara Irvin said Triplett always had a smile.

"Her energy and enthusiasm for life was abundant," Irvin said. "She loved the outdoors and we all awaited her great stories upon returning to work."

Memorial services will be at 2 p.m. on Saturday at Yates Funeral Home Hayden Chapel.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.