Angie Reynolds

Tuesday, April 4, 2023 3:31 pm

Angie Reynolds, age 85, passed away Feb. 3, 2023 of old age.

She was at home, surrounded by family and peacefully drifted away.
Angie was born on May 30, 1937 to Burt and Elsie Henning in Decorah, Iowa. She was named
Sarah Angeline after her Great Grandmother who was born May 30, 1854, but always went by
Angie. She was very close with her Henning grandparents and took piano lessons from
Grandmother Henning starting at an early age. In High School she walked to their house before
school to practice the violin. Her interest in music continued and she played the violin in the
orchestra, French horn in the band and sang in Chorus and other ensembles while she was in high
school. Other interests that were nurtured by her grandmother that continued her whole life were
birdwatching, gardening, and painting and pen-and-ink-drawing, particularly of plants and
flowers.
Angie went to Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa and graduated with a degree in Vocal
Performance in 1959. She knew it would have been more practical to study Music Education but
she had no interest in being a teacher. She also knew she was not going to be a professional
vocalist. After graduating she had no firm plans so she followed her college voice teacher to
New York City and got a job working for Doubleday Publishing as a secretary. After she’d been
there for several months she met a young salesman who had been working out of town for the
summer. She thought he was a good-looking fellow and when she found out he was a tenor,
studying opera, she knew he was the man for her.
Angie Henning married Darrell Reynolds on Dec. 29, 1960, in Decorah. Darrell continued
to work for Doubleday but he wanted to go west and was transferred to Portland, Ore. While
living in Portland, Angie and Darrell had two children. Jessie was born on their 1st anniversary and
Angus followed in 1963. Darrell grew up in Alaska and became interested in dog sled mushing
while living in Oregon which eventually led to moving to Alaska in 1964. Their first home was
in Cantwell, Alaska, a small village in the shadow of Denali (Mt. McKinley) on the railroad.
Even though living in rural Alaska was very different from her life growing up in small-town
Iowa, she adapted very well and learned many new skills needed in Frontier Alaska. She made
homemade bread, and was a very good cook, especially considering some groceries were in short
supply, like produce and dairy. Darrell and Angie moved to Anchorage and had 2 more children
in 1968 and 1970, Tobias and Carrie. Darrell acquired more dogs, mostly Siberian Huskies, and
established Kossa Kennel at their home. Angie was not interested in being a dog musher, but she
started showing the huskies at dog shows, along with some of the Newfoundland dogs the family
had as pets. In the late 1960s and 1970s Angie was very active with the Siberian Husky Club in
Alaska and the Alaska Sled Dog Racing Association, supporting Darrell with his Iditarod
Dreams.
After her youngest child started school, Angie got a job working for the Book Cache, which she
enjoyed very much, being a lifelong voracious reader. The family briefly moved to Wyoming
from 1978-1982 where Angie and Darrell tried their hand at being business owners, purchasing
The Gift Box, a Hallmark store. The local economy tanked in early 1981, so by 1982 they were
back in Alaska. Angie was rehired by the Book Cache and worked as a bookstore manager for
the rest of the time she was in Alaska. In 1984 Darrell died suddenly while training for the
Iditarod. Angie had 2 kids in High School at the time and wasn’t sure what the future would
bring. She stayed until 1988, when her youngest graduated, and then moved back to Decorah.
After returning to Iowa, Angie was employed by Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum in a
variety of roles, including gift shop clerk, development staff, archive assistant, education
coordinator, and much more. In her free time she volunteered in local schools, dressing up as
book characters and reading to the students and making presentations about living in Alaska and
dog mushing. She became active in music and theater again. She performed in many New
Minowa Players shows in the chorus and also in the chorus of several Dorian Opera Theater
productions at Luther College. For a short time she was the director of the Farm Bureau
Women’s Chorus, and sang in Northern Lights, a local women’s chorus. She was the Church
Choir director at Decorah Congregational UCC for almost 20 years, rousing a small group
(usually less than 15) to many stirring performances over the years, including a lot of gospel, a
little Hank Williams, a Beatles themed Sunday service and the music of Bob Marley.
As she aged she suffered from reduced mobility, until she was entirely wheelchair-dependent.
She was able to live independently thanks to our local Hometown Taxi drivers, who delivered
her groceries weekly and made sure she was able to get to appointments safely. Even when she
didn’t go anywhere but funerals and the Doctor, she still got together with her “Birthday Girls”
Ruth Bruce, Carole Fox, and Joyce Epperly. They were a small group of friends who met 5
times a year for a birthday luncheon for each and a small Christmas party. Their friendship
meant a lot to Angie.
Angie had one final adventure in her life, when she moved to Chama, New Mexico in 2021,
accompanied by her three youngest children and her grandson. She wasn’t sure about the move but
she didn’t want to be left behind and her kids were glad to have her there. It was particularly nice
having her “boys” Angus and Tobias living next door. She had only seen them on vacations
every few years for the last 30 years and she enjoyed seeing them more regularly.
Angie was a life-long member of Decorah Congregational Church, later called UCC,
P.E.O and D.A.R. She remained close with many of her high school classmates and after she
returned to Decorah, she got to know some that she’d only been acquainted with before. Angie
remained single following her husband’s death. She said she enjoyed her independence and
Darrell was one-of-a-kind and she was lucky for the time they had together. She was a good
friend to all and enjoyed vacationing with friends while she was still able.
She was a very good mother, and much-loved by all of her children. She made Halloween
costumes and holiday decorations by hand. Every year in February she made Valentines with the
kids. She encouraged them to take music and dance classes, and participate in sports and theater.
She said she was blessed with a very happy childhood and wanted her kids to have the same.
Angie is survived by her brothers Dale Henning (Barbara Beving Henning), Darrell Henning
(Terry Sparkes) and Tom Henning (Lois Beitland Henning); her sister-in-law Cora Sue Dickson;
her children Jessie Reynolds, Angus Reynolds, Tobias Reynolds, and Carrie Reynolds;
grandchildren Angela Berry, Autumn Burns, and LaQuin Reynolds-Dunlap and greatgrandchildren Griffin, Amelia, and Liam Lewis, many nieces and nephews and friends in Alaska, Iowa and across the country.
Angie was preceded in death by her parents Elsie Beagle Henning (Davis) and Burt Thurber
Henning, her husband Darrell Eugene Reynolds, her sister Kay Janice Green (Dr. Edward
Green), sister-in-law Rosemary (Newell) Henning and nieces Lisa Heverling, and Angie Green.

A musical celebration of life for Angie (Henning) Reynolds will be held on Saturday, April 29, 2023, at Decorah UCC. Angie’s favorite music will be played in the sanctuary from 1 p.m. – 2 p.m. The memorial service begins at 2 p.m. in the church sanctuary, with fellowship and refreshments following in the Congregational Center.