Jessie Mae “Jimmie” Ferguson Howland, 86, of Caldwell, Idaho, died in Nampa, Idaho, on Jan.  22.

She was born on April 2, 1922, in Wilson, Idaho, the daughter of Fay O. and Lydia (Cox) Mitchell.

Howland attended grade school in Wilson and high school in Melba, Idaho. She married Hale Ferguson on June 13, 1938, in Wilson where they made their home. In 1950, she completed a course of study at the Grimms Business College in Boise.

In 1951, the couple moved  to Jordan Valley, where they owned and operated the Jordan Valley Hotel and Café. In 1954, they moved to McDermitt, Nev., where they owned and operated The Stateline Café.

Her husband died in 1965, and she then married Chuck Howland on June 11, 1966, in Winnemucca, Nev.

The couple moved to Hines, where they made their home until 1987, when they moved to Caldwell.

Howland enjoyed camping and fishing at the Oregon Coast and trips to British Columbia, Canada. She loved her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and was a faithful prayer warrior for her children and grandchildren. She collected recipes and was known as a wonderful cook. Her family benefited from her baking hobby and truck drivers followed her from Jordan Valley to McDermitt to get her famous oatmeal raisin cookies.

She loved growing pansies in the spring. She used to say that they looked like “little faces smiling back at her.” She was a member of the Owyhee County Historical Society.

Howland is survived by her husband, Charles “Chuck” Howland; her children, Joe Ferguson and wife, Betty, of Fallon, Nev., Beverly Langston, of Nampa, Mitch Ferguson and wife, Lorcie, Hawthorne, Nev.,  Dave Howland and wife, Kim of Portland, Dawna Runnels and husband Dick  of Nyssa, and Tim Howland and wife, Evelyn of Chandler, Ariz. She is also survived by 14 grandchildren, 27 great-grandchildren and a number of nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her sisters, Frances Caldwell, Esther Hoagland and June Whitted, and grandson, Chris Ferguson.

A funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 29, at the Alsip & Persons Funeral Chapel, 404 10th Ave. So., in Nampa. Burial will follow at the Wilson, Idaho Cemetery. The family will greet loved ones and friends at the funeral chapel on Wednesday, Jan. 28, from 6-8 p.m.

Correspondence may be mailed to Chuck Howland at 5200 Midway Rd. #650 Caldwell, ID 83607. Contributions in Howland’s memory may be made to the Owyhee County Historical Society, P.O. Box 67, Murphy, ID 83650.