Betty was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, on December 10,1920. She was the youngest of four children born to Ethel (nee Hause) and George Miles. She attended St. Paul Central School and worked at Lacher's Drugstore in St. Paul, where she met the love of her life, Howard William “Bill” Harholdt, while making sodas and malts. When she was 18, she began working as an administrative assistant at Carpenter, Abbott, Coulter and Kinney, the patent counsel firm for Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing (now 3M) and was there for two years. She was extremely involved in the community and enjoyed gymnastics and skating at the St. Paul Figure Skating Club.
Betty enlisted in the United States Navy in February 1943 and was stationed in Washington, D.C., where she worked in the Naval Intelligence division decoding secret messages. While she and Bill were in the military, they decided to get married. Their families traveled to D.C. to see them wed in a small church in November 1944. Betty was honorably discharged from the Navy in January 1945, before the birth of her first child, Laurel Jean Hesley (nee Harholdt), in August 1945.
Bill was honorably discharged in November 1945 and the two returned to Minnesota where they found themselves traveling for Bill's job as a supervisor for the Minnesota Department of Transportation. Starting in February 1948, the family migrated between transportation projects in their shiny travel trailer. This was a proving grounds of sorts, as Betty further developed her sense of adventure and housekeeping in tiny spaces. It was during this time that the family found themselves hauling water from creeks frequented by black bears and facing off with huge logging trucks on muddy logging roads. Betty was said to have put a bright red hat on Laurel so she didn't lose sight of her in the tall prairie grass.
After jet-setting around the Midwest in their travel trailer for two years, the family returned to the Twin Cities in the summer of 1950. By the time Betty and Bill's son Carl William “Bill” Harholdt was born in November 1952, the family had settled in Mahtomedi, Minnesota, where the kids spent the summer swimming in White Bear Lake.
The training, expertise, and security clearance Betty gained while in the Navy allowed her to start a lifelong career within the human resources and security busineses at 3M Company. Betty worked in several different positions, and was an Economic Research Analyst in the Electro Products division when she retired. This division comprised the magnetic tape recording business of 3M, and the company founded a singing group, called the Musicmakers, to travel the U.S. and show off the company's products. Betty sang with the Musicmakers for a number of years and was a lovely singer with a penchant for old ballads and classic tunes. You can hear Betty sing on several Musicmakers albums she cut with the group. She also sang at events for the White Bear Lake Lions Club and at St. Paul’s Church on the Hill. Betty was a very involved member of the Tartan Park Golf Course where she and Bill golfed frequently. Legend has it that that she got him a job as a course ranger there.
In addition to singing, Betty was an excellent sewer, painter, and ceramics worker. She loved to sew, so much so that Laurel did not have a store-bought dress until sometime after 5th grade. Each holiday, Betty would paint temporary artwork on the windows to celebrate the season. For many Halloweens she would paint hundreds of mini-pumpkins for a Lion's Club fundraiser. Even the felt Christmas stockings where all handmade by her. She loved sketching the birds she would see during her annual pilgrimage to Florida via Hot Springs, Arkansas, once Bill and Betty decided to become full-fledged snowbirds.
If there was anything that Betty loved, it was a great party. Betty enjoyed entertaining family and friends. There were parties with lots of laughter and card playing (especially bridge), and of course singing, at her home in Mahtomedi, the townhouse in Maplewood and the condo in Panama City Beach, Florida – her favorite place to watch the sun set.
It's hard to sum up such a big personality in words, but we'll try: Betty was an outgoing, pioneering, and beautiful person who wanted to live life her own way. Sometimes that meant she pushed some boundaries (see: carpeting the shower, bringing home a monkey for a pet, among other tales), but her bright smile and exuberant personality were always at the ready if someone needed a hand. Betty shared her gifts with us, and she inspired many of us in the process.
Outside of work and hobbies, the most important thing to Betty was her family. She adored her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren as they were the center of her world.
She is preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Howard William “Bill” Harholdt; and her siblings, Dorothy Cline, Donald Miles, and Richard Miles. She is survived by her daughter, Laurel (Fred) Hesley of Mahtomedi, MN; her son, Carl William “Bill” (Patricia) Harholdt of Afton, MN; her granddaughters, Lael (Allen) Troupe of Philadelphia, PA, Katie (Philip) Westfall of Maplewood, MN, and Sunday Harholdt of St. Paul, MN; her great-grandchildren, Amelie Westfall, Zara Westfall, and Killian Troupe; and many other family and friends. Special thanks to the staff of St. Andrew's Village, Optage Hospice, and Bright Star Home Health Care for their excellent care. Funeral Service Tuesday (May 16, 2017) 11:00 AM at St. Andrew’s Village in the Garden Room, 240 East Ave., Mahtomedi. Visitation one hour prior to the Service. Interment Acacia Park Cemetery. Memorials preferred to donor’s choice.