Harriet Ann Long, longtime owner and operator of the former Long’s Jewelry store in Webster, passed away Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021, at Sunny View Care Center in Ankeny, IA. She was 96.
Funeral services will be 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021, at Fiksdal Funeral Service in Webster. Visitation will be one hour before the funeral service. Burial will follow at the Elmwood Cemetery at Bruce, SD.
Harriet was born Sept. 23, 1924, in Volga, SD, to Florence and John Hastings. She grew up on a farm near Bruce and graduated from Bruce High School in 1941. After graduation she worked in Brookings, SD, as a sales clerk at the JC Penney store and later as a secretary in a City of Brookings office.
She married Richard Long on June 4, 1946, in Kellogg, IA, while en route to Elgin, IL, where her husband attended watch-making school. After completing his training, the couple moved to Milbank, where he worked in a jewelry store and she worked in an insurance office. In 1948, Richard returned to his hometown of Webster and opened the Long’s Jewelry store which remained open for 70 years.
Harriet spent most of her life working in the jewelry store except for a few years, in the mid 1990’s, when she took some time off to care for her aging mother.
Although in her 90s, Harriet continued to run the store by herself after her husband’s death in 2015.
Harriet fell and broke her hip in December, 2018 and moved to a care center in Ankeny to be closer to family. She closed the store and sold the building shortly after.
Survivors include two nephews, James Hastings ( Michelle Wakefield) of Papillion, NE, and Bradley (Terri) Hastings of Amarillo, TX; sister-in-law, Betty Hastings of Ankeny, IA; six nieces, Susan Hastings of West Des Moines, IA, Julie (John) DeLanoit of Ankeny, Cheryl (Chris) Dewey of Wilmette IL; Jodi (Mark) Wandro of Urbandale, IA; Jill (Dan) Westholm of Urbandale, and Carrie (Phil) Mescher of Ames, IA; and several great-nieces and nephews.
In addition to her husband, Harriet was preceded in death by her parents and three brothers, Donald, Marvin and Lyle, who died at birth.
The family suggests memorial contributions be made to Sunny View Care Center, 410 NW Ash Dr., Ankeny, IA 50023 or to Suncrest Hospice, 5959 Village View Dr., Suite 100, West Des Moines, IA 50266.
Ankeny Memorial Gardens Funeral Home in Ankeny and the Fiksdal Funeral Home in Webster are in charge of arrangements.
