Helen Mae Frost Riebe passed away on Sept. 14, 2016, at the Immanuel Lutheran Home in Kalispell.

She was born May 3, 1926, in Eureka, the daughter of Floyd and Edna Frost. She was one of eight children and grew up in a large, happy family in the woods outside of Eureka surrounded by many relatives and friends, attending Glen Lake School and Eureka High School.

She was working in Kalispell after high school when she met Charles “Chuck” Riebe in 1946. After a true “whirlwind” courtship they married on Oct. 21,1946, and were married for 48 years until his death in 1994. They were a love story that their children all wished to emulate.

Helen worked as a homemaker for many years, raising six children while Chuck was an interstate truck driver. She was very active in Scouting, being a Girl Scout and Cub Scout leader at the same time for some years. After moving back to Kalispell in 1965, she worked at the Montana Drivers License Bureau. In 1967 she went to work for Montgomery Wards and worked there until 1972. She got what was to become her favorite job in 1974 at the Flathead County Sheriff’s Department working for Al Rierson, Chuck Rhodes and Jim Dupont as a dispatcher and ultimately in Records. She made many good friends while working there and only retired at 67 to take care of Chuck in his last years. They lived up off of Foothills Road on Bench Drive for many years, enjoying their little “farm” with her garden, chickens and turkeys, bunnies and a pig now and then, not to mention children and grandchildren, creating lots of very good memories for all.

Helen attended Flathead Valley Community College off and on, taking classes for fun until after Chuck passed away, and then went to school for almost two years to try for a degree. She enjoyed every minute of it.

She fought breast cancer in 1996 at the age of 70 and kept her sense of humor and optimism throughout the process. She was truly an inspiration to her family to the very end.

At the age of 79 she jumped out of a “perfectly good airplane” as her son-in-law was heard frequently to expound! She said it was an unforgettable experience. She took a glider ride around the valley and loved airplanes all her life.

She went on a number of little trips around Montana, up to Canada and to the Oregon coast. She was always so much fun to be with and you never heard one complaint from her. She was a very active little lady, rarely still for a moment, always doing four things at once!

Preceding her in death were her beloved husband, Chuck; two sons, LG and Dan; her parents; brothers, Floyd and Wayne Frost; sisters-in-law, Opal and Doreen Frost; and brothers-in-law, Joe Johnson, John Holder and Charles Purdy.

She is survived by sisters, Vivian Purdy, Jackie Holder and Bobbi Johnson; brothers, Ken and Gerry Frost, and Stan and Barb Frost; children, Jerry and Ellie Riebe, Linda Jelleff, Dianne and Ron Guyton, Floyd Riebe and Jay and Patti Riebe, and daughter-in-law Hazel Riebe. Her grandchildren are Garth and Kari Riebe, Diana and Dana Krank, Heather and Chris Beadles, Nathan and Kate Schelin, Jake, John and Drew Riebe, Sarah and Shawn Tong, Emily and Josh Krueger, Laura and Kimberlee Riebe, and Janie and Andrew Palermo. Great-grandchildren are Jace, Justin, Cindy, Tristan, Scarlet, Katrina, Auron, Khloee, Elijah, Andrew, Tyler and Brittany and numerous nieces and nephews.

Helen was a very loving, caring person with not a selfish bone in her body! She took in people, stray cats and dogs and was very beloved by all of them. She had a wonderful sense of humor and could always find something good in any situation. She is already terribly missed and will be forever. For such a little lady she has left a giant hole in our lives and hearts.

A memorial service is planned from 2 to 5 p.m. for Sunday, Sept. 25, at the Mountain Brook School Library on Foothills Road, for family and friends.