This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: Helmen, Mathison, Tuffin, Erickson, Packard, Dunn, Bailey, Billmark, Murrer Classification: Obituary Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/3FC.2ACI/3820 Message Board Post: Glen Oliver Helmen, 86 Friday, November 19, 2004 Glen Oliver Helmen, 86, a lifetime area resident of Milaca, Minn., died Tuesday, Nov. 9, at Elim Home in Milaca. He was the father of Hudson Dr. Kevin Helmen. He was born Jan. 23, 1918, in Milaca, son of Elmer and Laura (Mathison) Helmen, and attended the Chase Brook Country School near his home through the eighth grade. He stayed at home to help on the farm for several years before he started high school so that his younger siblings could attend school. His own graduation from Milaca High School was delayed until 1937. On Jan. 17, 1942, he joined the U.S Army Air Corps guarding the Panama Canal and also serving on the Galapagos Islands earning the rank of staff sergeant before his honorable discharge Oct. 31, 1945. On Sept. 9, 1942, he was married to Elizabeth I. Tuffin in Bagley, Iowa. After the war, he returned to Milaca with his new wife, where he worked for many years as an artificial inseminator for 21st Century Genetics. He served as district manager in a career that spanned more than 30 years. He also worked as the manager of the local Milaca Co-op service station for a number of years. He was active in his community and was a longtime member of the United Methodist Church in Milaca where he served on a variety of boards and committees.. He was a former member of the Milaca Lions Club, the Civil Defense board and Mile Lacs County Fair Board. With his four sons involved in 4-H, he served as a 4-H leader with the Brookside 4-H Club and worked with the Saddle Dusters 4-H Horse Club. Surviving are four sons, Larry Dean (Marilou) Helmen of Ronan, Mont., Pastor Jerry Lee (Toni) Helmen of Sacramento, Calif.., Dr. Kevin Duane Helmen of Hudson and Craig Eugene (Ruth) Helmen of Orlando, Fla.; 15 grandchildren; great grandchildren; two sisters, Inez Erickson and Lois Packard, both of Milaca; and two brothers, Bud (Dottie) Helmen of Roseville, Minn., and Lyle (Corrine) Helmen of Duluth, Minn. Preceding him in death were his parents; two sons in infancy; his wife, Elizabeth, in 2001; two sisters and four brothers. Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 20, at the United Methodist Church in Milaca with the Rev. Kevin Dunn officiating. A niece, Cheryl Bailey, will be organist and two nieces, Diane Billmark and Laurie Murrer, will sing. Burial will be in Forest Hill Cemetery in Milaca with sons and grandsons as casketbearers.. The Hansen-Hayes American Legion Post No.178 will present the flag to the family. © 2004 Hudson Star-Observer - Reposted by permission http://www.hudsonstarobserver.com/main.asp?Search=1&ArticleID=12265&SectionID=3&SubSectionID=54&S=1