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Vernice Ann Harrison passed away in her home on Saturday morning, Dec. 13, 2025, in the loving care of her children and numerous grandchildren by her side. She was 89 years old.
Vernice was born in Hardin, Montana, on Jan. 26, 1936, to Ed Loutt and Lydia Loutt, née Reile. She had four siblings: Ellen, Doris, Buddy and Sunny. Vernice graduated from Hardin High School in 1956. Shortly after, she met her husband, Neil, while waiting tables alongside her sisters at the local diner. In 1956, the couple married in Hardin and honeymooned in Niagara Falls. They settled in Powell, Wyoming, where they forged a life of farming. They had three children.
Vernice lived a full and rich life, nurturing family, keeping a home, running a farm, and volunteering in the church and hospital gift shop. There wasn’t a holiday meal not prepared by her hands, nor a grandchild or great-grandchild without a homemade quilt or knitted blanket. Her pantry was always fully stocked with canned beans, salsas, jams and pickled beets, asparagus, and the like, all picked from her garden, which she tended every year. Her flowers were equally impressive: Blooming each summer were moss roses, wild peonies, petunias, marigolds, gladiolus, hostas, columbines and bleeding hearts.
Above all, Vernice cherished her family, hosting holiday dinners with loved ones gathered around her dining room table and showering babies and young children with all the love she had to offer — and there was a lot. Grandchildren and great-grandchildren visited her often. She baked them cookies and played endless games of Rummikub, pinochle, and “dirty neighbor.” Vernice devoted her life to Christ, embodying the Lord’s teachings through virtues of love, kindness, and selflessness. She was also a loving wife. She and her husband, Neil, who died in 2023, vacationed in Yellowstone every fall and spring and enjoyed fishing trips to Beartooth Lake.
Vernice was preceded in death by her parents, Ed and Lydia Loutt; her brothers, Buddy and Sunny; her sister, Doris Metzker; and her husband, Neil. Vernice is survived by her three children, Vickie (Louis) Hetzel, Rick (Karlene) Harrison, and Ned Harrison; 11 grandchildren; and 20 great-grandchildren. Vernice’s memory will live on in the many lives she touched. She will be missed and treasured dearly.
Community members, friends, and family are invited to celebrate the life of Vernice at United Church of Powell on Monday, Dec. 22, at 10 a.m. A reception will follow.
