Helen Steele, formerly of Milan, passed away peacefully Tuesday, December 13, 2016 at English Rose Care Suites in Edina, MN at the age of 85.
Funeral services will be held on Monday, December 19 at 11:00 AM at Kviteseid Lutheran Church in Milan with Rev. Kristine Isder officiating. Interment will be in Kviteseid Lutheran Milan Methodist Cemetery. Visitation will be one hour before the services at the church.
Helen Barbara Thorson Steele the only child of Henry and Inez (Blom) Thorson. Helen was born at home in Milan, MN on March 19, 1931. She was baptized April 24, 1931 at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Watson, MN and confirmed on June 3, 1945 at Kviteseid Lutheran Church. She graduated from Milan High School in 1949. Following high school, she attended St. Olaf College and majored in Home Economics Education. She was teaching in Hutchinson when she met her future husband, Gerald Steele. They were married on July 24, 1955 at Big Bend Lutheran Church. They had two children, Thomas and Mary.
Helen and Gerald moved to Minneota, MN where Gerald was a teacher in the new junior/senior school. In the summers, Gerald and Helen would attend the University of Northern Colorado where they both earned their Master’s degree in 1960. The family then moved to Minneapolis, MN for a period of time where both taught in the Twin Cities area. After Gerald received his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota, the family moved to Muncie, IN where they lived for 29 years. Helen was an assistant professor at Ball State, teaching in the Home Economics Department for 25 years. She was active in the Indiana Home Economics Association and served as the program chair for the 1982 convention held at Ball State. Her teaching career spanned 39 years. In retirement, Helen and Gerald moved to Starbuck, MN to be by the lake and closer to Helen’s mother. When Gerald died in 2010 Helen moved to Edina to be closer to her children. She had just recently moved to English Rose Suites in Edina.
Helen and the family remained close to their Minnesota friends and relatives even when living in Indiana. They spent summers at the lake in Starbuck and Christmases in Milan. Throughout her life, Helen had an interest in genealogy and spent many hours researching family history, collecting stories from family and participating in organizations of descendants of immigrants from Norway. She was a member of Lutheran Church of the Cross in Muncie, IN and at Fron Lutheran in Starbuck. She was active in both congregations, serving as a Sunday school teacher, lector, participating in circle and helping with the church Christmas Bazaar. She also enjoyed returning to St. Olaf for class reunions and the annual Christmas Festival.
She is survived by her children: Thomas Steele of Chaska, MN and Mary Steele of Edina, MN; and grandchildren, Nicole Steele of Chaska, MN and Justin Conant of Duluth as well as her sister-in-law and two nephews, several cousins and extended family.
Helen was preceded in death by her parents, Henry and Inez (Blom) Thorson and her husband Gerald Steele.