Harriett Cole Hudson

Harriett Kwassheim Cole Hudson

Our dearest sweet loving mother and grandmother went home to be with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on June 19, 2023, after a short illness. Her life was defined by kindness, love, encouragement and servanthood. She was strong in character, fun-loving, humble, gentle and genuine. She had an excellent memory and could sing nearly every hymn by heart.

Harriett Kwassheim Cole Hudson was born in Butte, Montana, in 1937 to Norwegian immigrants Ane and Einar Kwassheim and sister Irenne while her father was working at the mine. She grew up in Billings, graduating from Billings Senior High in 1955.

She worked as a secretary for Hooper Holmes Insurance Investigators and Bankers Life and Casualty. Harriett married Alvin Cole in 1957, and they moved to the family farm in Hysham where they built a home next to Alvin's parents Esther and Verle Cole. They farmed together and raised sugar beets, wheat, alfalfa, pinto beans, corn and cattle. Harriett was not much of a country girl when she came to live on the farm, but she brought lunch with refreshing iced tea when it was hot or yummy spiced hot tea when it was cold out to Al in the field on his tractor. She actually drove the big old stick-shift beet truck for her husband to earn enough money to buy carpet. She had many wonderful memories there with her husband and two children, doing projects together with her mother-in-law, such as crafting, designing, canning, gardening, riding bikes to the river, attending a beef stock growers club called Treasure Belles, working on planting and landscaping projects in the town park with Friendly Garden Club, and having numerous entries in the county fair.

She attended First Baptist Church in Forsyth, where she helped out with the youth group, taught preschool and Kindergarten Sunday School, led the singing during worship services, and later worked at the church daycare center. She was instrumental in starting Hysham Baptist Church, where she continued teaching Sunday School and leading the singing for worship services.

After losing her husband Al in a car accident in 1983, Harriett married family friend Ed Hudson in 1988 and moved to Helena. She became involved in Canyon Ferry Baptist Church in East Helena, where she taught the fourth graders Wednesday night Bible studies. They eventually moved to Billings to help care for her mother-in-law Esther and later for her sister Irenne and brother-in-law Ribs.

She taught fifth/sixth Grade Girls Sunday School for many years at Emmanuel Baptist Church. She always said how much she loved those girls, investing so much time making sure she pointed them to Jesus and sometimes spent the whole week preparing projects that were connected to the lesson that would help them remember what they were taught.

She loved flowers and gardening, cookies, candy, ice cream, cooking, shopping and collecting gingerbread men. Harriett loved hosting get-togethers and spending time with her family and friends. If you visited for any length of time with her, you would not leave without multiple offers of a variety of dessert options that she was more than happy to share, as well as her mother’s infamous banana bread, which she made often and delivered to family, friends and neighbors. She especially enjoyed time with her grandkids and attending her grandkids’ events, whether it was a basketball, football, volleyball, cheerleading or music event, blowing kisses and waving from the audience. She spent a great deal of her time praying and studying God’s Word and always had a heart for passing out Gideon Bibles and gospel tracts to lead as many people as she could to the Lord. She was known for sending encouraging Bible verses at just the right time and could often be heard saying “It won’t matter in eternity” so she could help someone keep focused on what was really important.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Ane and Einar Kwassheim; her husband Al Cole (1983); and her husband Ed Hudson (2021). She leaves behind her sister, Irenne Mikelson (Ribs); her son, Todd Cole (Tanya); her daughter, Tami Hawkins (Tim); Todd’s children, Kyle, Colin, Cody and Kolya; Tami’s children, Taylen and Tacie; her stepsons, Edward Hudson (Lisa) and Paul Hudson (Linda); and Edward’s children Shania, Mikayla and Isaiah. She also leaves Lowell Tieszen, who was like a son to her.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Gideons International, PO Box 1984, Billings, MT 59103.

Services will be at 11 a.m. Thursday, July 13, at Emmanuel Baptist Church, 328 Shiloh Road, Billings, with a reception following and an interment at the Hysham cemetery at 4 p.m.