{"id":1043,"date":"2025-12-07T13:12:14","date_gmt":"2025-12-07T19:12:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/?p=1043"},"modified":"2025-12-07T13:12:14","modified_gmt":"2025-12-07T19:12:14","slug":"pierce-county-remembers-henrietta-hank-ness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/pierce-county-remembers-henrietta-hank-ness\/","title":{"rendered":"Pierce County Remembers Henrietta \u201cHank\u201d Ness"},"content":{"rendered":"

River Falls, WI\u00a0<\/strong>(trfnews.i234.me)\u00a0<\/a>\u2013 Family and friends are remembering Henrietta Mae \u201cHank\u201d Ness as a loving mother, grandmother, and friend.
\nShe died peacefully on Friday, November 28, 2025, at age 87.
\nHer passing came at the Sycamore Memory Center in River Falls, Wisconsin.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"PhotoHenrietta Mae \u201cHank\u201d Ness, remembered for her warmth, humor, and service to others.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Early Life and Education<\/h2>\n

Henrietta was born July 24, 1938, in Iron Mountain, Michigan.
\nHer parents were Henry and Ann Goulette.
\nThey taught her hard work, faith, and service to others.
\nShe carried those lessons through her life.<\/p>\n

Hank graduated from Iron Mountain High School in 1956.
\nShe later moved to Duluth, Minnesota, to attend the College of Saint Scholastica.
\nThere, she earned a degree in Social Work.
\nClassmates voted her \u201cAll College Woman\u201d in 1960.
\nThe school shares more about its mission on the\u00a0Saint Scholastica website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Marriage, Family, and Life in Thief River Falls<\/h2>\n

Henrietta married William \u201cBill\u201d Ness on August 13, 1960.
\nBill proposed on their third date.
\nTogether, they settled in Thief River Falls, Minnesota.
\nThey raised five children and built many lasting friendships.<\/p>\n

The Ness family became active in their church and community.
\nTheir home was a busy and welcoming place.
\nHank encouraged creativity, music, and adventure.
\nShe also pushed her children to care for others.
\nResidents of Thief River Falls remember those years with warmth.<\/p>\n

Career of Service and Advocacy<\/h2>\n

Henrietta later earned a master\u2019s degree in Counseling and Guidance.
\nShe became director of the Occupational Development Center in Thief River Falls.
\nThe agency supports adults with disabilities.
\nYou can learn more about similar work through the\u00a0U.S. Office of Disability Employment Policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Co-workers recall her calm presence and strong support for clients.
\nShe treated every person with respect and patience.
\nHer efforts helped many people find purpose and work.
\nThat legacy will continue in the lives she touched.<\/p>\n

Hudson Years and Life Along the St. Croix<\/h2>\n

In 2002, Hank and Bill moved to Hudson, Wisconsin.
\nTheir home overlooked the St. Croix River.
\nIt quickly became a favorite gathering place for family and friends.
\nThere were meals on the deck, card games, and long talks.<\/p>\n

Neighbors knew Hank for her gap-toothed smile and quick humor.
\nShe had a rare talent for making strangers feel like friends.
\nVisitors often left feeling seen, heard, and valued.<\/p>\n

Facing Alzheimer\u2019s With Grace<\/h2>\n

In later years, Alzheimer\u2019s disease slowly took Hank\u2019s memories.
\nEven so, her kind spirit stayed.
\nStaff members at the Sycamore Memory Center described her as gentle and sweet.
\nInformation on Alzheimer\u2019s support is available from the\u00a0Alzheimer\u2019s Association<\/a>.<\/p>\n

St. Croix Hospice also walked with the family near the end.
\nTheir caregivers helped keep Hank comfortable and at peace.
\nMore about hospice services can be found on the\u00a0St. Croix Hospice website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Family, Survivors, and Gratitude<\/h2>\n

Henrietta was preceded in death by her husband, William. her parents, Henry and Ann Goulette; her sister, Arlene Nolan; and her grandson, Ryan Mattison.<\/p>\n

She is survived by sisters Doreen Meade and Maria Smith.
\nHer children are Gregory (Karyn) Ness, Teresa (James) Mattison, Jon Ness,
\nJeffrey (Naomi) Ness and Rachel (Scott) Berger.
\nShe also leaves 14 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.
\nThey remember her love, humor, and steady support.<\/p>\n

The Ness family thanks the staff at the Sycamore Memory Center.
\nThey say the center made Hank part of its own community.
\nThey also thank St. Croix Hospice for the kind care during her final days.<\/p>\n

Service and Livestream Details<\/h2>\n

Visitation will be held from 10\u201311 a.m. on Saturday, December 13, 2025.
\nIt will take place at Saint Patrick\u2019s Catholic Church, 1500 Vine Street, Hudson, Wisconsin.
\nA funeral service will follow at 11 a.m.
\nA light lunch will be served at noon.
\nDetails about the parish can be found on the\u00a0Saint Patrick\u2019s Church website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For those who cannot attend, the service will be live-streamed.
\nThe video will appear on her obituary page at O\u2019Connell Funeral Homes.
\nThat site can be reached at\u00a0oconnellfuneralhomes.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m Chris Harper reporting for\u00a0TRF News<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

River Falls, WI\u00a0(trfnews.i234.me)\u00a0\u2013 Family and friends are remembering Henrietta Mae \u201cHank\u201d Ness as a loving mother, grandmother, and friend. She died peacefully on Friday, November 28, 2025, at age 87. Her passing came at the Sycamore Memory Center in River Falls, Wisconsin. Henrietta Mae \u201cHank\u201d Ness, remembered for her warmth, humor, and service to others.… Continue reading Pierce County Remembers Henrietta \u201cHank\u201d Ness<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1044,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_wpscp_schedule_draft_date":"","_wpscp_schedule_republish_date":"","_wpscppro_advance_schedule":false,"_wpscppro_advance_schedule_date":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":null,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"default","_twitter_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type":"default","_pinterest_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"default","_medium_share_type":"default","_threads_share_type":"default","_google_business_share_type":"default","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[15],"tags":[1656,768,1646,1659,1645,1658,1654,749,1650,1655,1647,1657,1648,1653,1652,1651,1649],"class_list":["post-1043","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-obits","tag-hank","tag-county","tag-hank-ness","tag-henrietta","tag-henrietta-mae-ness","tag-ness","tag-oconnell-funeral-homes","tag-obits","tag-occupational-development-center","tag-pierce","tag-pierce-county-obituary","tag-remembers","tag-river-falls-wi-obituary","tag-saint-patricks-catholic-church-hudson","tag-st-croix-hospice","tag-sycamore-memory-center","tag-thief-river-falls-minnesota","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1043","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1043"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1043\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1065,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1043\/revisions\/1065"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1044"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1043"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1043"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1043"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}