Alice Haraldson, Former Aramco Teacher, Dies
Helen (Friend who also worked for Aramco) and Alice Haraldson in 1961Photograph contributed by Letha Chunn-Mendivil
Alice Geneva Haraldson, 84, died Friday, September 2, 2005, in Mankato, MN, after a lengthy illness. She will be remembered as a teacher of French and Physical Education to American students at home and abroad, and as a librarian in Waseca, MN, who entertained children there with her many stories and puppets.
Ms. Haraldson was born April 24, 1921, the daughter of Frank O. and Frances Irene (Skipton) Haraldson, in Wilkin County, MN. She was raised in Kasota and Mankato, MN, attending Mankato State Teachers' College Experimental Grade School and High School, from which she graduated in 1938. She then attended Mankato State Teachers' College, graduating in 1942 with her teaching certificate. Upon her graduation, she was heralded by the local newspaper for having attended the same school for 13 years. She began her career as a teacher in Tyler, MN, in 1942. In 1943, she took another teaching position at St. Ambrose College for Boys in Davenport, IA. After two years there, she began teaching for the U.S. Department of Defense in American schools in France and Germany. The majority of her career, however, was spent as a teacher for the Arabian-American Oil Company (ARAMCO) in Abqaiq and Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, during which time she took advantage of educational opportunities at universities all over the world. She retired to Cleveland, MN, in 1970 to help care for her widowed and aging father. After his death, she returned to Mankato State Teachers' College, which had by then become Mankato State University, to obtain a Master of Science degree in Library Science. Upon its completion in 1982, she became a children's and reference librarian and finally the Director of the Waseca-Le Sueur Regional Library, retiring in 1990.
Descended from Mayflower Pilgrim Richard Warren and several Revolutionary War veterans, Ms. Haraldson is also a descendant of Le Sueur County pioneers. Her great-grandparents, Asa and Jemima Cheadle, first came with Asa's brother Peter to Cleveland, MN, in 1855 from Ohio to claim land issued to their mother by Military Land Warrant. Asa later became a State Senator from the Kasota-Cleveland area, and Peter became a local sheriff. Her grandparents, W. R. "Dolph" and Zilpha Abigail (Cheadle) Skipton, were successful farmers in Kasota. Mr. Skipton was a stonemason as well, and Mrs. Skipton was a teacher and a charter member of the Capt. Richard Somers Chapter of DAR in St. Peter. Ms. Haraldson was a member of the Traverse des Sioux Chapter of the DAR in Le Sueur, following in the footsteps of her mother who was a former Chapter Regent. Later she transferred her membership to Mankato's Anthony Wayne Chapter. Ms. Haraldson was also an accomplished knitter. Besides creating garments and afghans for her relatives and friends, she created finger puppets which she used to tell stories to children in her position at the library. She was a voracious reader and a classic movie buff, as well as a member of the Lady Slipper Doll Club of Faribault.
She is survived by her sister, Azalia H. Chunn of Grants Pass, OR; her brother, Thomas F. Haraldson of Le Sueur, MN; four nieces: Letha Chunn-Mendivil of Chula Vista, CA; Susan Chunn of El Cajon, CA; Shirley Sigler of Hager City, WI; Carolyn Christopherson of Belle Plaine, MN; and three cousins. At her request, her body will be cremated and no services will be held. Donations may be made to Hearing and Service Dogs of Minnesota, 2537 - 25th Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55405, or to the Salvation Army, 700 So. Riverfront Drive, Mankato, MN 56001.