Alice "Penny" Huesmann

Born in Battle Creek, Michigan, on January 6, 1942, Penny was the daughter of the late James Vernon and Virginia Aylette (Wagner) Graham. She graduated from Battle Creek High School and went on to pursue her passion for art at the University of Michigan, earning a Bachelor's Degree in Art and Design in 1963 and subsequently studying Commercial Art at Southern Connecticut State College.

It was at the University of Michigan that Penny met the love of her life, L. Rowell Huesmann. They married on May 23, 1964, just one day after Rowell graduated. They had met on a blind date 2 years earlier after which Penny was soon named the “sweetheart of Alpha Sigma Phi” (Rowell’s fraternity). They were inseparable from then on including traveling around Europe on a motorcycle in the summer of 1963 during which Penny worked for weeks at an inn in Bad Reichenhall while Rowell worked on a nearby farm in Donaueschingen . But on every free day they met and hiked in the Bavarian Alps or visited museums. The trip marked the beginning of Penny’s lifelong love of the outdoors and travel.

Throughout their marriage, Penny and Rowell traveled extensively, visiting destinations around the globe, from Australia, New Zealand and Alaska to their three favorite cities -- Paris, Cambridge, and Berlin (in each of which they lived for a while.) Their travels also included countless family skiing trips and outdoor adventures. Penny was an avid skier and hiker. Her most memorable experiences included climbing Mt. Washington in a rainstorm in 1966, skiing Austria’s Olympic downhill slopes near Innsbruck with Rowell and her children in 1980, and climbing the Hollentalklamm trail on the Zugspitz in the Bavarian Alps in 2006 when she was 64 and watching her grand-daughter McKenna do it again in 2023 .

When she was home Penny replaced hiking and skiing with tennis and jogging. From her thirties to her seventies she jogged almost every day or evening after work with her Labrador retrievers – first Morgan (black), then Barnum (yellow) – both of whom loved her intensely.

Penny’s love for the outdoors was matched by her affection for animals, particularly her labs -- Morgan and Barnum and then her cats—Big Fat Kitty and Licorice. Even when they dug up her plants and scratched her furniture, she would only chastise them gently and pet them with a smile on her face. Known for her constant smile, her cheerfulness, her politeness to others, and her Joi-de-Vivre, Penny was actually very competitive in games. She was an avid doubles tennis player with Rowell, her kids and many friends. She loved playing and the cheerful socializing that went with it, whether her team won or lost. She also loved playing board and card games – particularly canasta-- with her family-- including joining in the vociferous arguments about rule violations that inevitably seemed to occur.

But Penny’s greatest passion was for her kids – Kim and Graham. She found tremendous joy in spending time with them—cooking for them, sharing stories, advising, consoling them, and

even disciplining them. She was a terrific mother. Her devotion to her children was unwavering, and she prioritized their well-being above all else.

Penny was an avid reader and was a lifelong supporter of the University of Michigan, almost never missing a football or basketball game. She was also a true environmentalist, a lifetime Sierra Club member and activist who advocated for green space for birds and wild animals even while being frustrated by all the deer who ate the garden plants around her house. She taught her kids to be great environmentalists too. Imbuing them with the same passion for keeping the world green and good for all life that she possessed.

Professionally, Penny also found time to have a long and distinguished career as a commercial artist and administrator. She worked as the director of several magazines, head of the Art Department at General Learning Corporation in Northbrook, IL, and held various positions at the University of Michigan, including Intern and Program Assistant at the Center for the Education of Women, Student Service Assistant in the several departments, and Senior Administrative Assistant for Outreach Services and the Honors Program in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. She retired on June 30, 2012.

Penny is survived by her beloved husband, Rowell Huesmann; her children, Kimberly Huesmann (John) Larsen and Graham Rowell Huesmann; her grandchildren, Nicholas Loychik, Ryan Loychik, and McKenna Delaney; her sisters-in-law, Nancy Huesmann Reed and Marilyn Selby Graham; and her nieces and nephews: Mary Christine Reed, Michael Reed, Maureen Reed Walsh, Karen Reed Ejercito, Kathleen Reed Foote, Scott Graham, and Kill Graham Karney. She is also survived by her lifelong friends, Eric and Jennifer Dubow.

In addition to her parents, Penny was preceded in death by her brother, James Graham, a graduate of Dartmouth college where he was a varsity football player (which probably contributed to Penny’s passion for watching football).

A memorial service for Penny will be held on Tuesday, January 6, 2026, at 1pm at the Muehlig Funeral Chapel in Ann Arbor at 403 South Fourth Ave. For those who can’t attend the service in person, a video of the service will be posted on the Muehlig web site [muehligannarbor.com] within 2 hours of its end. Interment will follow immediately after the service at Forest Hill Cemetery in Ann Arbor at Geddes and Observatory.

In honor of Penny's memory, donations may be made to The Sierra Club Environmental Law Program by visiting https://www.sierraclub.org › environmental-law .

Muehlig Funeral Chapel of Ann Arbor is honored to serve the Huesmann family. To share online memories, please visit muehligannarbor.com.