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- Pauline M. Howard, 94, Minot, died Thursday, Nov. 24, 2011, at Williston surrounded by her loving family.
Pauline was born Feb, 18, 1917, on the Nermyr family farmstead near Westhope, to Herbrand and Margit (Lilleslet) Nermyr, the seventh of nine children. She attended the country school near the Nermyr farm and at age 12, after having skipped two grades in elementary school, became a high school student at Westhope, where she lived during the week in a rented room in a home in Westhope with her sister Alice and another girl. She graduated from Westhope High School in 1933 at the age of 16. After high school, she attended Minot Business College for two years.
Her first job was as a secretary for Minot Hide and Fur. She later became employed in the credit department of Montgomery Ward Department Store, eventually becoming its credit manager.
Pauline was united in marriage to Austin Howard on Nov. 10, 1940, at the Mouse River Lutheran Church near her childhood home. They made their home on the Oliver Saugstad farm near Logan and then on the Thomas farm near Deering. In 1949, they moved to Deering, where they owned and operated the Deering Cafe. Pauline was in charge of the lunch counter and served three meals a day for anyone who might show up. In 1950, Austin became employed in Minot by White's Purity Dairy. In 1952, Austin and Pauline moved with their three children to Minot.
Pauline returned to work in the credit department at Montgomery Wards and was soon promoted to credit manager again. That was before computers, when the credit department did the books by hand, which meant posting every charge and every payment by hand, with all pages and all summaries, having to balance to the penny every day.
In 1960, Pauline became a deputy sheriff with the Ward County Sheriff's Department. Pauline started out as Sheriff Olaf Haaland's secretary but soon became the deputy in charge of the office secretarial staff. At Sheriff Haaland's request, Pauline took on additional duties, which included escorting female prisoners and juveniles to detention centers and mental health facilities, both in state and out of state, taking training in handling and firing weapons, going on stakeouts, interviewing and handling investigations in rape cases, teaching civil process (the correct service of documents in civil lawsuits) at the North Dakota Law Enforcement Center and at the state police academy.
In 1971, Sheriff Haaland asked Pauline to take training to become a certified breathalyzer operator. Pauline knew the training would involve chemistry and math but she jumped at the chance, becoming the only female breathalyzer operator in the state of North Dakota. Pauline retired from the Ward County Sheriff's office in 1978 with the rank of captain.
While Pauline was a deputy sheriff, she became acutely aware of the grave problem of domestic violence in Minot and the surrounding area. She became a founding member of the Minot Domestic Violence Crisis Center and worked tirelessly to raise money for funding the program. In 1995, in honor of her efforts on behalf of the Minot Domestic Violence Crisis Center, the Domestic Violence Crisis Center dedicated its newly purchased transitional living home in her honor. The home, a place where women and their children could live on an interim basis to escape the violence in their own homes, became known as "Pauline's House."
Retirement was an exciting time for Pauline because it gave her time to develop her artistic skills. With the mentoring and assistance of Vern Skaug at weekly lessons with him, Pauline's artistic talents were nurtured and developed. She became known for her beautiful sceneries, floral pastels, and oil portraits of her extended family. The homes of her children and grandchildren are filled with her beautiful artwork.
Pauline was an active member of Zion Lutheran Church, Minot. She assisted the church treasurer for many years by helping every Monday to count the offering from the Sunday services the day before. In the early 1960s, she became one of several students of Pastor Feig in which she studied the Bible intensively for three years to become qualified to teach the Bethel Bible Study Series to adults. Afterward she taught the adult Bethel Bible Study Series every week for three years to a class at Zion Lutheran Church. She often mentioned how grateful she was for the opportunity to study the Bible as an adult because it deepened her faith and gave her another avenue to share her faith with others.
Among her many honors and awards during her lifetime, Pauline was especially proud of being chosen North Dakota's Outstanding Woman in Law in 1975 by the Governor's Commission on the Status of Women; her appointment in 1976 to serve as a delegate from the state of North Dakota to the International Women's Year Conference in Houston and being honored by the Law Women's Caucus in 1979 by the University of North Dakota School of Law, Grand Forks.
Her loving family includes: Daughter, Judith (Peter Hugret) Howard, Minot; granddaughter Beth (Alan) VanDelinder and great-grandchildren Paige and Grace VanDelinder; granddaughter Brenda (Gregory) Limke and great-grandchildren Lauren and Brett Limke; grandson Michael Hugret and great-grandson Noah Hugret; grandson Mark Hugret; special granddaughter Leta (Rick) Semchenko and special great-granddaughters Ellyn and Natasha Semchenko; Daughter, Nancy Fischer, of Everett, Wash.; grandson Austin (Kari Yadro) Howard; grandson Stuart (Annie) Fischer; grandson Joe (Rosa) Fischer, great-granddaughter Angela (Jason) Myers and great-great-grandsons Layten and Brayden Myers; Son, Robert (Joann) Howard, Williston; grandson Jesse Howard and great-granddaughter Emily Howard; grandson Michael Howard; granddaughter Jennifer (Casey) Heller, great-grandson Austin Heller; and grandson Bill (Heather) Howard. Pauline is also survived by siblings Palmer Nermyr, Westhope, Selmer Nermyr, Las Cruces, N.M., Lillian Jespersen, New Hope, Minn., as well as numerous cousins, nieces and nephews.
Pauline was preceded in death by her husband, Austin, in 1990; parents, Herbrand and Margit Nermyr; sisters, Alice Lodoen, Inga Moum and Gudrun McHaney; brothers, Arnold Nermyr and Paul Nermyr; and son-in-law, Delbert Fischer.
Funeral service: Friday, Dec. 2, 2011, at 11 a.m., in Zion Lutheran Church, Minot.
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1917 - 2011 (94 years)
