After a short stay in the hospital, she went to live with her son, Jerome, and his wife, Connie in November of 2011 in Williston. In June, 2013 she went to live with her daughter, Marie, in Bismarck. In November, 2014 she broke both bones in her lower right leg.

Due to her determination and independence she was able to walk again. She met and made many friends at St. Gabriel’s Community where she was able to attend mass and other activities. Alma was a favorite of many of the staff at St. Gabriel’s – they said she was easy to care for. She always had a smile, sense of humor and would say “thank you” for all that was done for her. She showed her independence by always making sure they would let her do things for herself if she could. She considered St. Gabriel’s her home and resided there until she was called to her heavenly home.

Alma is survived by her son, Jerome (Connie) Muller of Williston; daughter, Marie Muller of Bismarck; daughter, Vivian (Tom) Duursma of Bismarck; and son, Joe (Karen) Muller of Hot Springs, SD.

She is also survived by 14 grandchildren: Robbi Jo (Brad) Morgan of Minot; Janitda (Jim Mueller) Muller of Bismarck; Cathy (Lonnie) Rickett of Williston; Nicole (Jeremy) Wright of Grenora; Amber (Adrian) Mantei of Billings, MT; Laura (Scott) Owens of Bismarck; David (Kristen) Brunelle of Ankeny, IA; Wendy (Dave) Hanenburg of Allen, TX; Kim Duursma of Bismarck; Sue Duursma of Bismarck; Tammy Duursma of Bismarck; Kristi Harris of Rapid City, SD; Janissa (Bobby Steuck) Muller of Germantown, WI; and Jenni (Paul) Mosier of Centennial, CO. She is also survived by 22 great grandchildren: Brady and Bridgette Morgan; Amanda, Ashley and Alan Rickett; Graham and Molly Wright; Payton and Jordan Mantei; Emma, Bridger, Isabella, Lily and Macy Owens; Jack and Thomas Brunelle; Griffin and Ainsley Hanenburg; Ty Oakland; Brita and Braxton Bowerman and Cody Harris. Step great grandchildren: Andrew Rickett, Michael Mueller and Stephanie (Greg) Doll. Also 3 step great-great grandchildren: Nathaniel, Nicholas and Eliza Doll. She is survived by one sister, Agnes Manger of Grenora and many nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her husband: Alphonse; grandson: Jason Muller; great-grandchildren: Marissa and Lacey Morgan and Aaron Rickett; her parents: Ole and Anna; her sisters: Lena, Olga, Julia, Clara, Edna and Bernice; and a brother, Iver.

In Loving Memory ofAlma Olive Muller

1918 ~ 2017

"Weep Not In Sorrow"Weep not in tears of sorrow because I’ve gone away,

But weep with tears of gladness for the peace I have today.I know your hearts are heavy with sorrow that you bear.

But God has called me home, my place is ready there.My stay on earth’s completed, my nal rest is won

I’ve received the richest blessing, to dwell with God’s own Son.

In Memory of Alma Olive Muller

Date and Place of BirthOctober 21, 1918 ~ Good Luck Township, North Dakota

Date and Place of PassingFebruary 20, 2017 ~ Bismarck, North Dakota

Her Mass of Christian BurialSaint Joseph's Catholic Church

Williston, North DakotaSaturday, February 25, 2017

10:00 AM

OfficiatingFather Russell Kovash

MusiciansG.P. Eleria ~ Kim Semenko

Casket BearersArdean Krogen Ervin Krogen Howard Ross

Vincent Laqua Martin Hanson Bennett FolstadRoger Manger Jerald Petersen Joel Petersen

Honorary Casket BearersJason Muller Marissa Morgan Lacey Morgan

Aaron Rickett Clarice HansonRichard Ross Alan Manger

Her Final Resting PlaceRiverview Cemetery ~ Williston, North Dakota

Please continue to share memories of Alma on our webpage eversoncoughlin.com

Alma was born at her home place in Good Luck Township to Ole and Anna (Krogen) Haugen on October 21, 1918. Midwife and Grandmother, Lhena Krogen, delivered her. Growing up she played with her brother and sisters on the farm. She started school at Gladys #2 at age 6 in 1st grade. Archie Mehus was her 1st grade teacher. She attended through 8th grade. In the winter time she rode to school on a sleigh, also called a “cutter”. In the fall and spring she rode to school in a one-horse buggy pulled by “Lady” and then walked some also. She learned to sew in 4-H when she learned how to embroider and hem dishtowels. Mrs. Oscar Anderson was the leader.She started working in Bonetraill for Mrs. Olaf Vig. Mrs. Vig was expecting and Alma was there to help out while Mr. Vig was thrashing. That year she missed about one month of school. She worked for Mrs. Oscar Anderson from November until May getting paid $1.50 per week. This is where she learned all her baking skills. She told a story that when she was making cookies the recipe said for her to cream together butter and sugar – she added cream. She went home on weekends. She also worked for Mrs. Harlan Weir, Mrs. Nick Andre, Mrs. Norbert Kueffler, Mrs. Sever Rustad, Helen Evans and Dewey Hjort in Medicine Lake, MT, and Hildegard Delaney in Williston. She helped her grandmother with baking and cleaning when she had company.

Her mother always made white cake with white frosting for Alma’s birthday. She would take it to school and treat the kids.She met Alphonse Muller while she was working in Grenora for Mrs. Weir. Her sister, Olga, was working for his mother, Catherine Muller. Alphonse and his brother, Morris, came into town after attending graduation in Zahl. They didn’t start to date until later when they went to a show. They dated off and on for about a year and he proposed after a date one night. She decided that she would become Catholic because she wasn’t attending any other church at the time. They were married in Grenora on December 27, 1943 at St. Boniface Rectory with Clara, her sister, and Morris, his brother, as attendants. There wasn’t any snow, kind of a cool day for their wedding. However, there had been lots of snow at Thanksgiving time but it had mostly melted by December. Following their wedding they went to her parents’ farm and had breakfast and went to Williston to have their pictures taken. Later they went to her parents’ farm for supper. That night they went to Grenora where they had a dance that evening. The Moorhead kids (Benny, Bob and their sister) played for the dance. They spent the night at their farm. In January, they had a shower at the farm where people brought gifts. Alma helped Alphonse on the farm, milking cows, stacking hay, mowing the yard and in the trees and doing other farm chores that needed tending to. She always had a large garden and canned lots of vegetables and fruits and made bread and butter. Alma and Alphonse were members of St. Boniface Church before they retired in the fall of 1969, and moved to Williston. There they joined St. Joseph’s Church. Alma helped serve funerals and helped the ladies at St. Joseph Parish sew quilts. She spent many hours sewing blue jean quilts for her children and grandchildren. They joined the Senior Citizen group where they met and made many friends, played cards and danced. They would also go to the Moose Club to dance.

Alma and Alphonse enjoyed a trip to Hawaii to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. They also took many trips around the United States. Alma took several trips after Alphonse passed away to Alaska, New England states, Florida and Texas and made many trips to see her children and grandchildren. She had a group of friends who would get together and play cards. She and a few lady friends would make bus trips to the casino to celebrate their birthdays.

Alma would always make specialties that everyone enjoyed which included: caramel brownies, sugar cookies, Cheerios bars, Joe’s bars, Mac and Cheese and her famous caramel rolls. She was affectionately called “Caramel” Grandma and “Cream” Grandma by her great-grandchildren. She said “The happiest phone calls I got were from my family telling me about grandchildren being born. Grandchildren are my glory. I sure enjoy them all when they come and now I have great-grandchildren. One thing life taught me is ‘Take one day at a time. Be friendly to all. Keep a smile.’