It is a mixture of sadness and joy that fills our hearts as we say goodbye to our Mom, Grandma, Great-Grandma, Aunt and Friend Helen.

Helen was born on a farm in Deep River, Iowa. She was the second child and the oldest daughter of Cleo Holdsworth and Mabel Malcolm Holdsworth. Her childhood was filled with farm life and family.

Riding Buck, the plow horseFeeding the chickens and the dreaded job of cleaning the coopTending the gardenDe-tasseling the cornFamily reunions, huge family reunionsWinning the Healthiest Baby medal at the Iowa State Fair

Tragedy struck when Helen was just 13 years old. She lost her mother. Helen stepped up and became the caregiver to her dad and siblings. Helen cleaned, cooked and braided hair as she finished her education. She treasured her summers living with her grandparents on the farm in Iowa.

In 1955, she met Jerry Lundberg in Cheyenne Wyoming where he was stationed after returning from the Korean War. They were married May 13, 1956, in Wheatland, Wyoming. They welcomed their son, Michael, a year later while living on the farm in Iowa. They returned to Montana when Mike was a toddler and lived up Marsh Creek North of Helena. It was here that their daughter, Anne, was born in 1959. Helen raised a garden, pumped her water and lived without electricity or a telephone. To her---this was a beautiful existence.

The family moved to the Helena Valley where Jerry worked as a milkman for Phillips Dairy. Helen took care of the home, worked at the telephone company and as a cook at the RB Drive-In. Their next move was to Lincoln in the mid-1960’s. They built a home on Poorman Creek off Stemple Pass. Jerry worked at the Forest Service and Helen took care of the home and animals while he fought forest fires. She has always been such a capable person. She worked several jobs through the years. Didriksen’s IGA, The 7-Up Supper Club and the First Bank of Lincoln. One of her more adventurous jobs was planting trees for the US Forest Service. She and her lady friends did this every spring. It was something that she was always so proud to have done. She was a member of the Home Dem group and a friend to the elderly. Especially the elderly bachelors.

As time will do----it marched on. Helen and Jerry moved to Canyon Creek and built their last home. They lived here until Jerry passed. Helen moved into an apartment in Helena and then into Helena Pointe Senior Living. A stroke forced her to move into Beehive Nursing Home when she could no longer live alone. It was here at Beehive, under the amazing care of the angels that work there, that she passed on May 11, 2026.

Helen was preceded in death by her parents and her older brother, Robert “Bob” Holdsworth. She outlived her three sisters, Dorothy, Lois and Ruth. It always amazed us how strong she remained through this. She lost a piece of her heart with each sister’s passing.

She lost Jerry on February 8, 2023.

She lost her life-long HI-LO sisters, Franny Stevens and Dodie Hohn. 70 years they were friends.

Helen is survived by her son, Michael and his wife Teri of Canyon Creek, MT as well as their daughters Emma Lundberg (medical caretaker extraordinaire) and Krista Lundberg Marshall (Husband Denton) of Helena, MT. Hands down and without a doubt, the brightest spots in Helen’s life were Krista and Denton’s kids, Campbell and Juna.

She is also survived by her daughter, Anne and husband Steve and son Scotty of Clyde Park, MT. Scotty continues the Forest Service work that Jerry loved. Helen enjoyed spending time in Clyde Park cooking meals, taking car rides and sitting on the front porch.

Nieces, nephews and friends too numerous to mention will miss Helen greatly.

Helen is with her family once again. Her sisters were there to meet her when she entered Heaven. She is at peace.

No services are planned.