Helen Waldmann died peacefully of natural causes on Aug. 31, 2014, at age 97. She was surrounded by love ones at her former home in Bloomfield, N.J., where she spent the last two years of her life with son Richard. He kept her active by taking her to musical events, dining out with family members and walking in the park every day.

Helen was born Dec. 17, 1916, in New Jersey. She married Emil “Dick” Waldmann in 1940. 

In 1943, she became the mother of twins, Richard and Sue. In 1950, their son Savron was born. Helen was a stay-at-home mom until 1956. She then became secretary to the president of the Empire Mutual Insurance Co., a job she truly loved until her retirement in 1977. 

Helen and Dick spent many vacations visiting their daughter Sue and their grandchildren in Missoula. They fell in love with Montana and decided to make the big move here, leaving their family and friends in New Jersey. They purchased their dream home in Dayton on Flathead Lake after they retired. Helen and Dick immediately made many new friends and had great, loving and caring neighbors. They attended the Dayton Presbyterian Church where Helen became the church secretary.

Helen enjoyed taking care of her beautiful flower gardens, oil painting, sewing, knitting, completing her daily crossword puzzles, listening to orchestral music and operas, and doing exercise videos to stay fit. Helen and Dick attended all the Bigfork Theatre plays. Each year, they packed a picnic lunch and hiked at Glacier National Park with visiting family members.

Helen loved to bake and will long be remembered for her wonderful pies. She loved watching sporting events and was a huge Montana Grizzly Football fan. Her favorite sports included tennis, baseball and golf. Helen had a lifetime of loving her cats and dogs. She enjoyed playing card and board games with her family and friends. 

In the year 2000, Dick and Helen moved to Missoula and spent every summer at their lake home. They never missed a grandchild's school performance or sporting event. They enjoyed traveling which included cruises to Mexico, the Caribbean, Hawaii and Alaska. Dick and Helen were married for 69 years. 

After Dick's passing in 2009, she continued to live independently. She loved to travel to Tucson in the winter to visit with Sue and her husband Bob. She made many new friends and joined lots of activities, such as water aerobics, singing rehearsals and card groups .Helen enjoyed attending many shows, attended potlucks, shopping and visiting local attractions. Her favorite was the Tucson Zoo. 

Helen loved the Lord and passed that faith on to her entire family. She will long be remembered for her beautiful smile that attracted so many people to her. She always put others first, consistently had a positive attitude, never complained and was so appreciative of every little thing that people would do for her. She always cared about what you had to say and was a great listener. 

Helen leaves a son, Richard Waldmann, son, Savron and wife Carole, and sister, Dorothy, all residing in New Jersey; a daughter, Sue Payne and husband, Bob, from Missoula; a granddaughter, Beverly Brooks of Missoula; grandson, Rob Carlson and wife, Merri, of Spokane; six great-grandchildren, Randy, Chantal, Brandon, Clarissa, Afton and Cade; and seven great-great-grandchildren, Jaxon, Robert, Kylie, Max, Peyton, Donovan and Avionna.

A celebration of Helen's life will be held in July of 2015 at the family lake home in Dayton. The exact date will be announced next spring. 

Condolences and memories may be left for the family at bobsuepayne@aol.com or Sue Payne, P.O. Box 2397, Missoula MT 59806.