Helen Muriel Knutson

Helen M. Knutson, 92, of Great Falls passed away peacefully on April 23, 2018, at Peace Hospice from complications of lung cancer. A Celebration of Life service will be held Saturday, April 28, at 5:00 p.m. at Faith Lutheran Church, 1300 Ferguson Drive in Great Falls. Helen was born on February 6, 1926, to Knute and Helga Johnson in Harlem MT.She was the only daughter and loved her seven brothers and their parents deeply.The family farmed near Hogeland MT, also known as “The Big Flat”.Helen was the last surviving sibling of this incredible family. She was baptized and confirmed at the American Lutheran Church in Hogeland.Her childhood was spent on the family farm where it took hard work to survive the tough times, but there was always good food on the table and an extra plate or two for the local bachelors who seemed to drop in around dinner time.Although they worked hard, the family had fun working together and never missed a Sunday at Church.Their faith and love of God was evident in everything they did. At the age of 14, Helen worked for her room and board caring for four girls while attending school.Helen graduated from Hogeland High School in 1944, winning spelling bees and participating in band, basketball and track.Shortly thereafter, she married the love of her life, Donald E. Knutson, at the home of his sister, Mildred Olson, in Havre MT.Five children were born of this blessed union:Donald, Duane, Dick, Dee and Diane. Don and Helen farmed and Don also taught in Hogeland for six years before moving to Missoula, MT, where Don continued his education and Helen was the perfect homemaker with a hot, delicious dinner, along with fresh cookies, pie or a cake baked almost every night when he returned from classes. In 1957, the Knutson family moved to Great Falls where they joined Faith Lutheran Church, were extremely active in Faith's ministry and made many lifelong friends there.Helen and Don continued to raise their family and Don taught Junior High School.Helen later worked for a local optometrist for approximately ten years. In 1983, Don retired from teaching and he and Helen moved to Rollins, MT on beautiful Flathead Lake.They regularly attended Dayton Presbyterian Church and later Faith Free Lutheran Church in Kalispell, MT and were extremely active and made many wonderful friends in the Flathead valley. While living on the lake, they enjoyed entertaining family and friends, where Helen was able to continue to share her special gift of cooking and baking. The wonderful smells of fudge, divinity, pies, fresh bread and cookies were always in the air!Helen was also interested in crafting and making special gifts for family and friends.In addition, Helen was passionate about her love of flowers and gardening. She planted a miniature rose bush to celebrate the birth of each grandchild and always knew how many buds each one had!She created incredible floral arrangements for Church, family and friends, those sick or grieving or just to brighten someone’s day. In 2000, Don and Helen returned to Great Falls to be closer to family and, at that time, returned to Faith Lutheran Church where they still had many friends. Second only to her faith and love of God was the magnitude of Helen’s love for Don.Always together, they lived out their faith and love and were an exemplary example to their children of what faith and true love were all about. Helen loved having ‘tea parties’ with Don and their grandchildren at the lake, and as those grandchildren grew, there were always bonfires at night for roasting hot dogs and making s’mores. Whether they had company or not, every day was a ‘tea party’ for Helen and Don and the coffee pot was always on! Helen is survived by sons, Dick (Martha) Knutson of Corcoran, MN, Dee (Janet) Knutson of Great Falls, daughter, Diane (Rodger) Gilmor of Great Falls, and daughter-in-law, Joanne Knutson of Bigfork, MT. Other survivors include Helen and Don’s grandchildren: Jeff Knutson, Jon Knutson, Josh Knutson, Kären Wain, Marc Knutson, Kolter Knutson, Kendal Conley, Zach Gilmor and Nathan Gilmor and 14 great-grandchildren and countless nieces, nephews and extended family. Helen was preceded in death by her husband, Don, to whom she was married over 70 years; two sons, Don Knutson and Duane Knutson; and grandchild, Joseph Knutson. In lieu of flowers, Helen’s family requests that memorials be given to Faith Lutheran Church in Great Falls or a charitable organization of individual’s choice.