Memorials › Helga Victoria Foss Gillie

Helga Victoria Foss Gillie

25 Sep 1915 – 23 May 2013

Birth25 Sep 1915
Death23 May 2013
CemeteryGreenwood Cemetery
Hallock , Kittson County , Minnesota , USA
Added byShaneO on 29 May 2013
FaGhttps://www.findagrave.com/memorial/111439006

Bio

Helga Gillie, 97, of Hallock, Minnesota passed away early Thursday morning, May 23rd, 2013. Helga Victoria (Foss) Gillie was born September 25, 1915 to George and Inga (Norum) Foss in the house on Oak Grove Farm in Thompson Township eight miles southeast of Hallock. She was the oldest child of a family of six children. As a youngster, she attended a rural one room school in District #23 of the Two River neighborhood. She attended high school in Hallock where she graduated as salutatorian of the class of 1932. She then attended Moorhead State Teachers College and earned a teaching certificate; and began her six year career teaching in various rural schools in Kittson County. Helga was married to George Gillie September 10, 1939 in the Two River Lutheran Church. Most of her life was spent on the Gillie farm homestead east of Hallock, where George and Helga raised two sons, Jerry and David. She was actively involved in all aspects of "life on the farm", and was particularly known for her large, hearty gardens. Helga was an active member of Two River Lutheran Church serving in many capacities in the Sunday School Program and the activities of the ladies organizations, in which she held many offices locally and nationally. She was a member of the church choir and the Golden Age Singers. Also, she was often the soloist at weddings and funerals. In addition to church activities, Helga was very active with Kittson County Extension Department, and served on numerous committees in the community. For many years, she was the leader of the Thompson 4-H Club; and, later served as the superintendent of the "open class" division at the Kittson County Fair. Helga also served in connection with PTA at the schools and played a big part in collecting and writing articles for the Kittson County History Books and the Hallock Centennial Book. In the sixties, Helga wrote an informative and entertaining column of the events that occurred in the local neighborhoods. These were published weekly in the Kittson County Enterprise as "East Side Doings" and in the Lake Bronson Budget as "West Side Doings". George and Helga loved to travel. Their trips took them to many places in the United States, Canada, Caribbean Islands, Hawaii and Mexico. She also enjoyed a special trip to Norway to visit her relatives and the ancestral home. After retirement, they moved into a home in Hallock and spent winters in Arizona. While in Arizona, she served as a volunteer in the Mesa Lutheran Hospital and was very active in the functions and events in the village where they lived. All her life, Helga collected many pictures and memorabilia from their trips and visits to relatives and friends. She also kept newspaper clippings and records of all major activities in Hallock and the surrounding area. These are all contained in numerous scrapbooks and albums, which are in the care of the Kittson County Historical Society in Lake Bronson. Helga's beloved husband, George, passed away on February 27, 1993 in Mesa, Arizona. She was also preceded in death by her parents; and four brothers, Arnold, Ellsworth, Victor and Floyd. She is survived by her sons, Jerry, Hallock, MN and David, St. Adolphe, Manitoba; a grandson, Carmeron and wife, Nazan, Madison, Wisconsin; a sister, Florence Ristad, Hallock; sisters-in-law, Lenore Foss, Grand Rapids, MN and Katherine Foss, Park Rapids, MN as well as nieces, nephews and cousins. Funeral services are scheduled for Wednesday, May 29, 2013 at 11:00 a.m. in the Two River Lutheran Church at the Kittson County Museum in Lake Bronson, Minnesota. Visitation will be held at the church for one hour prior to the funeral service. Interment will be in Greenwood Cemetery, Hallock.

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