Janice M. Alm

Janice Mary Alm, 81, passed away on Wednesday, July 17, 2019 surrounded by family at her home in Moorhead while under Hospice care.

Born Dec. 31, 1937 at St. Ansgar hospital in Moorhead, MN, to Patrick and Eleanor McCurdy, Janice grew up in Fargo.  She attended Shanley High School and later went on to obtain a bachelor’s degree in Speech Pathology at NDSU.  She worked at the Fargo Theatre while in college, and it was there that she met the love of her life.  She married Kerman Robert Alm on June 7, 1959 at the Christine Lutheran Church.  The couple later made their home in Moorhead where they raised their two children.

Janice worked as a speech pathologist in the Moorhead School District for over a decade.  She obtained a master’s degree from Moorhead State University, and then taught college curriculum at NDSU.  Prior to retiring in December 1999, Janice was a speech pathologist for Cass County Special Education.

After retirement, Janice stayed busy with many projects and social events, but the main focus for many years was being a Grandma.  She loved spending time with all of her grandchildren, and always had projects or adventures for them.  When she wasn’t out on a small adventure or taking the grand kids to the lake, she was most likely being their most popular customer while she played “restaurant” for countless hours with the girls.  It was common for her and Kerman to have one or more of the grandchildren with them at least a couple days a week.  As the grandchildren grew older, she attended as many concerts, competitions, races, games, or programs as she could, always letting them know that they were supported and loved.

Her passion to help others went far beyond her work as a speech pathologist.  She enjoyed feeding people, whether it meant making a home cooked meal for people or spending countless hours at local food pantries.  She was not only a faithful servant to those in our community, but most honorably to Christ throughout her entire life.  She was an active and dedicated member of Our Saviors Lutheran Church in Moorhead since 1959.

Janice liked to stay busy, and always made sure she had something to work on.  She filled spare time with many hobbies including sewing, ceramics, and mainly quilting.  She showed her family and friends her love by giving them the gift of her time, whether it was running errands, putting a meal on her children’s table during a particularly busy schedule, watching the grandchildren, or even catching up their laundry.  She also poured her time into the gifts that she gave them of lovingly crafted quilts or home décor.

She is survived by her sister, Margie (Lee) Isensee; children, Jason (Andrea) Alm, Carmen (Curt) Hutchins; five grandchildren, Tyler (Harmony) Alm, Hailey Alm, Danielle Hutchins, Regan Hutchins, and Tyler (Lexi) Muchow; four great-grandchildren, Ezra, Axel, Sawyer and Dexter and nephews, Ben, Joe, and Tony.

Janice is preceded in death by her parents, Patrick and Eleanor McCurdy; husband of 56 years, Kerman Alm and her grandson, Spencer Muchow-Alm.

In Lieu of flowers, donations are preferred to the local food pantry.

A memorial service will be held Sunday, July 21, 2019 at 2:00 PM with a visitation starting one hour before the service at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, Moorhead, MN.