Virginia “Ginny” L. Hougon (Anderson)
Virginia “Ginny” Louise Hougon (Anderson), 78, died peacefully in her sleep, March 30, 2020, at her home in New Mexico.
Ginny was born January 23, 1942, in Whitehall, the daughter of Inez (Gullickson) Anderson and Otis Anderson. She was baptized at Pigeon Creek Evangelical Lutheran Church of Pigeon Falls. Her schooling began at Daggett Coulee, and in second grade, she moved with her family to Hovland, MN., where she completed her elementary education at the Chicago Bay School in Hovland, with junior high years in Grand Marais. Ginny’s family returned to Wisconsin in 1956, and operated the Coral City Store where Ginny spent many afternoons after school, cheerfully tending to the duties of a country store, waiting on and chatting with the customers she came to know so well.
Ginny graduated from Whitehall Memorial High School in 1960. She attended UW—River Falls for a year and then Duluth Business University in Minnesota. She worked in the steno pool at the St. Louis County Court House in Duluth for three years and there met and married her husband Airman David D. Hougon in 1964. Shortly after their marriage, David was deployed to Viet Nam for a year during which Ginny moved to be with family in Hovland, and worked retail in Grand Marais, MN.
Ginny adapted well to the military life style and matter-of-factly accepted her husband’s deployments, including two tours in Germany that resulted in many trips throughout Scandinavia and surrounding countries. Despite long periods away from her friends and family, Ginny wrote long and frequent letters with page after page (double-sided) on yellow legal tablets; the subject matter included stories of trips taken, children growing, politics, personal observations and many funny anecdotal stories, all cherished by the recipients of her letters.
In the early 1980s, during their last tour, Ginny settled with her family in Alamogordo, New Mexico, a state that she came to love. Always rolling with the punches, Ginny found various employment, from assembly line to retail to secretarial to a stint as a licensed real estate agent. She took many classes at the state college near her home. She loved being a mother and adored her grandchildren.
Ginny is survived by her daughters: Solvi (Paul) Del Vecchio of Wasilla, AK., Heidi Hougon of Alamogordo, NM.; a son, Joel (Jennifer) Hougon of Alamogordo, NM; two granddaughters; two grandsons; two great-grandsons; one great granddaughter; two sisters: Dianne (Tom Ludwig) Anderson of Hovland, MN., and Susan (Errol Niemi) Anderson of Alamogordo, NM. She was preceded in death by her husband, David Hougon, in 2016; her parents; and an infant brother.
A private family memorial service to celebrate Ginny’s life will be held at a later date.
