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(Feb. 5, 1927 - April 19, 2012)
Harriet Weixel, 85, of Cody, died unexpectedly at her home on Thursday, April 19, 2012.
Harriet was born on a farm near Cleveland, N.D., on Feb. 5, 1927 to George and Helen (Robertson) Williams. The Williams were a family of 10, and Harriet was the third child. She lived in Cleveland, N.D., for the first 23 years of her life.
She was an active leader in her 4-H Club. On June 16, 1952 she married Elroy Weixel, who was in the Air Force stationed in Merced, Calif. When Elroy was deployed to Korea, Harriet served as a Church of God missionary in Southern Japan from 1953-54.
After this venture, Harriet attended Business College in Portland, Orego. Upon graduation, she worked for the Oregon Fish and Game Department. In 1959, she and her husband moved to Merced, Calif., and served together as the congregation’s youth leaders. In 1961 she and her husband became youth leaders at a congregation in south San Francisco; Harriet also started to work for the Department of the Army. In 1968, she transferred to the Defense Language Institute on the Monterey Peninsula. In 1980, she was transferred to Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indianapolis, Ind., where she continued her career as a budget analyst until her retirement in 1989.
After she retired, Harriet joined her husband in Jerome, Idaho, where she worked for the city and also started her writing career. She wrote for the Twin Falls Times News as their reporter. Harriet and Elroy went to Russia to teach the Bible in School 94 in the city of Chelyabinsk on the southwest corner of Siberia. While there, Harriet wrote a news story twice a month for publication in the Twin Falls Times. The governor of Idaho appointed Harriet to a Jerome County Commissioner’s position for two years, 1996-97.
In 2000, Harriet and Elroy moved to serve a congregation in Grand Rapids, Minn., where Harriet continued her reporting career for the Grand Rapids Herald Review.
Harriet came to Cody in 2008, where she wrote for the Cody Enterprise until March 2011. Harriet loved to serve people and always tried to find something encouraging to say to every person she met. She would get them to share something special about their lives. She believed every person has a story and that is why she liked being a reporter.
Harriet was preceded in death by her parents, one brother Almond Williams, and one sister Margaret Weixel.
Harriet is survived by her husband of 59 years, Pastor Elroy Weixel; two sisters: Kay (Norm) Aldinger of Jamestown, N.D., and Tiny (Alvin) Exner of Ypsilanti, N.D.; four brothers: Earnest (Mae) Williams of Cleveland, N.D., Wilbert Williams of Gillette, George P. Williams of Cleveland, N.D., and Roger Williams of Oklahoma.
Memorial donations can be made to The Gideons or to Mt. View Church of God’s Improvement Fund.
Funeral services will be held at Ballard Funeral Home at 10 a.m. Tuesday, April 24. Visitation took place Monday evening. Burial will follow the funeral at Riverside Cemetery.
An online guestbook is available at www.ballardfh.com.
