Helen Emily Hedman was born Sept. 15, 1912, in Leith, N.D., the daughter of Peter and Fredrika Hedman. Helen 'went to be with her Lord' on Jan. 1, 2006, at the Riverside Assisted Living in Whitefish.

In her early years she was taught by her sister Emma on the prairie between Glasgow and Opheim, where the family homesteaded. She later attended the Sunflower School and was taught by her sister Anna.

In 1926, she moved to Whitefish to be with her older sisters and enrolled in Whitefish High School. She graduated with the class of 1931. After graduation from high school, she entered the Swedish Hospital in Seattle to begin nurses training. She graduated from Swedish Hospital as a registered nurse in 1936, after taking a year off for treatment of tuberculosis.

Her nursing career included working in the John B. Simons Hospital in Whitefish for many years, where she was the attending nurse in delivery for a couple of her nieces' babies. She ended her nursing career in the infirmary at the Pasadena Nazarene College in Pasadena, Calif.

After receiving her nursing degree, she enrolled in the Chicago Evangelistic Institute and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in speech in 1943. Her sister was the head of the speech department and her brother-in-law, Kenneth Wells, was head of the music department. She also later took classes at Michigan State University.

She was a member of the United Methodist Church in Whitefish since 1926. She taught in the Sunday school and directed a speech choir for the high-school girls.

She was preceded in death by her parents; two brothers, Ed and Vern; six sisters, Anna, Hanna, Emma, Evelyn, Lily and Grace; a niece, Barbara Kappy; and three nephews, Melvin, Elwood, Henry and Jack Steveson.

She is survived by numerous nieces, nephews and other family members.

Viewing will be from 4 to 8 p.m. today, Tuesday, Jan. 3, at the Austin Funeral Home in Whitefish. A funeral service will be held at 1 p.m. Wednesday at the United Methodist Church in Whitefish, with the Rev. Debbie Schmidt, officiating.

Interment will take place at 11 a.m. Thursday at the Glacier Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Kalispell.