Harriet Nell Mae Houglum

Harriet Nell May (Wang) Houglum, 91 , Alexandria, MN, died Friday, July 10, 2015, at the Douglas County Hospital in Alexandria, MN. Harriet Houglum was born April 20, 1924, to Nels and Mollie Wang in Hagen Township, Clay County, MN. She attended Ulen, MN, Schools. After high school graduation, she worked in home care in Fargo, ND, and then returned to Ulen and worked for a few years as a telephone operator. She met Jim Houglum of Flom, MN, at a local town hall dance, and then when Jim returned from the service, they married on March 31, 1948. They lived on the Houglum family farm near Flom for two years before relocating to St. Paul where Jim attended the Minneapolis Art Institute. After his graduation, they moved to Moorhead, MN, where Jim was employed at the Fargo Forum and then KXJB TV; Harriet assumed the responsibilities of the home and family. When Jim began work for KXJB TV, Harriet occasionally worked part-time for the station as well; she would monitor and report by the hour the length and types of local commercials being offered by KXJB’s competition. In the early seventies, she also briefly worked for Moorhead Public Schools in their food service department. After Jim’s retirement, they moved to Alexandria where their daughter and her family lived. Harriet’s greatest loves were her husband and family. She was a devoted wife to Jim for 62 years until his death in 2011 and was a dedicated and diligent housekeeper. She also loved to decorate for Christmas spending hours getting the ornaments just right. She would then tirelessly prepare trays of her well-loved Christmas goodies. Her greatest joy was having her family gathered together as she loved the commotion of children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren in her home. Harriet was mother to Thomas (Colleen) Houglum of Moorhead, MN; Mark (Juli) Houglum of Moorhead, MN, and Mary (Doug) Griffin of Alexandria, MN. She was grandmother to Seth (Brenda) Houglum of Detroit Lakes, MN; Leah (William) Spotts of Moorhead, MN; Mackenzie Houglum of Moorhead, MN; Hannah (Matt) Fleming of Eden Prarie, MN; Samuel Griffin of St. Paul, MN; Martha (Zachary) Mink of San Pedro, CA; Lydia Griffin of Alexandria, MN, and Grace Griffin of Alexandria, MN. Harriet’s three great grandchildren are Annabelle and Jude Houglum, Alma Fleming, and one TBA. Harriet also held her many nieces and nephews close to her heart. Harriet was preceded in death by her husband Jim, an infant daughter, her parents Nels and Mollie Wang, her sister and brother-in-law Shirley and Gilman Olson, brother and sister-in-law Kenneth and Lillian Wang, and brothers Quinton and Edmund Wang. Funeral arrangements are through Anderson Funeral Home of Alexandria, MN. The funeral will be held Wednesday, July 15, at 11:00am with visitation scheduled one hour before the service at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Moorhead, MN.

Harriet Nell Mae Houglum

April 20, 1924 - July 10, 2015