Helen Pedersen Therriault

RONAN - Helen Pedersen Therriault was born in Twin Butte, Alberta, Canada, on Nov. 5, 1920. She was the third daughter of Johanne and Klemen Pedersen. She received her schooling there.

Helen passed away on Thursday, Aug. 20, 2009 at St. Luke Extended Care Facility in Ronan.

She worked in Minneapolis from 1942-1949.

On Nov. 19, 1951 she married Frank Therriault in Pincher Creek, Alberta. They lived in North Pole, Alaska, from 1951 to 1955, where Frank worked as a heavy duty equipment mechanic at the Eielson Air Force Base in Fairbanks. In 1955, they bought a farm in Moiese. They enjoyed working on the farm as well as fishing and picnicking in the Big Sky Country of western Montana.

Their daughter Anne was born in Missoula in 1957.

Farm life included cattle, sheep and chickens, as well as hay and grain. Picking huckleberries was another longtime favorite activity.

Due to Frank's poor health, they sold the farm in 1971 and moved into a new home they had built in Charlo. Frank died in April 1972.

In the fall of 1972, programs and services for the elderly were being organized in Lake County. Helen helped with many of these programs and served on the board of directors for the Charlo Senior Center. She also served on the Lake County Council on Aging in Ronan and on the Area VI on Aging Board in Polson. Helen was site manager for the nutrition program at the Charlo Senior Center for 19 years. She retired in 1991 in order to have more time to spend with her family.

Her home was always open to her twin grandsons and their friends and classmates. She was a volunteer grandma for the third grade reading program at the Charlo School for nine years. She was an avid sports fan and enjoyed all sports activities at the Charlo schools, from Little Dribblers basketball program, Charlo Youth Baseball and on all the way to all the Charlo High School games and tournaments.

Helen enjoyed working in her yard and garden. Many people passing by her home exclaimed over the riot of colors when her flowers are all in bloom. She also worked on beautiful embroidery work on pillowcases, dish towels and dresser scarves.

She enjoyed her retirement to the fullest, taking many trips on the senior citizens' bus, and spending lots of time with her grandsons, Jason and Joel Fuhrmann. Becoming a grandmother and being able to see her grandsons grow up was extremely rewarding to Helen as she didn't know any of her own grandparents. On Nov. 11, 2007, Helen suffered a severe stroke. She made the transition gracefully from independent life to assisted living.

Helen was preceded in death by her parents, an infant brother, two sisters, and her husband, Frank.

She is survived by her daughter Anne Fuhrmann; son-in-law Dale Fuhrmann; and twin grandsons Jason Fuhrmann and Joel Fuhrmann; sisters Alma Heap and Esther Hewitt; brother Harry Pedersen; brother-in-law Douglas Hewitt; sisters-in-law Josephine Therriault, Jane Rutledge and Jeannette Therriault; and 14 nieces and 18 nephews.

Friends may pay their respects Monday from 2-6 p.m. at the Shrider-Thompson Funeral Chapel in Ronan. Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 25, in the Mission Valley United Methodist Church. Burial will follow in the Ronan Cemetery.