Helen Thom
Our beloved Helen
Rosella Thom returned to
her heavenly family on
June 9th, 2019. She
passed peacefully, of na-
tural causes, in her home
at age 88.
Visitation will be Fri-
day, June 21, 2019, from 3
pm-7 pm at
Thompson-Larson Fun-
eral Home, Minot, ND.
Services will be held Sa-
turday, June 22, 2019, at
11:00 am at
Thompson-Larson Fun-
eral Home followed by
burial in Sunset Memorial
Gardens, Minot. A cele-
bration of life reception
will be held at the Grand
Hotel, Minot.
Helen showed how to
make life THE BEST; from
a cup of coffee to time
spent with others to the
quiet moments
in-between. Her desire to
help and support others
was truly commendable
and even inspirational. In
that spirit of inspiration,
the family has asked in
lieu of flowers please con-
sider pledging to complete
an item below: Send a
care package to a member
of our military; Ask some-
one to dance; Pay school
lunch for a local child in
need; Call and catch up
with a friend; Make a list
of things you appreciate
about someone, now send
it to them; Deliver a May
Day basket without get-
ting caught; Plant a new
vegetable in the garden,
later have it be the star of
dinner with friends;
Create a magical memory
for someone else
What a blessing to have
had this time with her!
Thank you for helping to
carry Helen’s memory on;
it means more than you’ll
ever know.
Helen was born in 1930
in McHenry county, to Al-
vin and Anna (Isakson)
Thompson, the eldest of
six children. She
described life in those
days as “more simple than
today where you generally
could start and finish a
project in one setting, un-
less the cows were to get
out of the pasture.”
Although they lived in the
great depression her
memories were filled with
gratitude and happiness.
She graduated high school
a year early and went on
to obtain her teaching cer-
tificate from Minot State.
She taught a year at Deep
River before being swept
off her feet at a dance. In
1949 she married her
dance partner, Harley B
Thom, and they contin-
ued dancing together for
the next 50 years. The
couple lived in Minot and
Bismarck, ND, supporting
businesses from a gas sta-
tion to a tire service to the
Farmers Supply Co to a
potato processing plant to
water well drilling. Helen
was later honored by the
governor for being the
first licensed, female, wa-
ter well driller of ND. She
said she loved every
minute of it and there was
nothing like seeing the
customer’s smiles when
they’d strike water.
Helen was a longtime
member of the Elks and
Moose and was active in
Denim Dames, the
Befrienders, Healthy Li-
festyles, Pioneer
Daughters and danced
many a polka with the
Northwest Polkateers. She
was an active member in
Shepherds Chapel
church. She enjoyed trav-
eling, gardening, dancing,
laughing and helping oth-
ers but her greatest love
was her family.
She is survived by:
daughter, Linda Keller
(Jerome) of West Fargo,
ND; granddaughter, Leissa
Johnson (Eric) of Fargo,
ND; brothers, Richard
Thompson (Mary) of
Towner, ND, Allen
Thompson of Granville,
and Erick Thompson
(Connie) of Granville, ND;
sister, Rose Steen (Dick)
of Loveland; numerous
nieces and nephews and
countless friends.
She was preceded in
death by: her parents, Al-
vin and Anna Thompson;
husband, Harley Thom;
and sister, Julia Clayton.
Those wishing to sign
the online register and
share memories may ac-
cess the online obituaries
section at www.thompson
larson.com.