Helen Lavonne Chirpich, age 94, passed away on August 30, 2023 after having spent the later years of her life at Sunrise Assisted Living in Minnetonka.  Helen was born in Cambria, MN on February 19th, 1929 in the front porch of her grandfather’s home, having been too impatient to await the horse and buggy ride to a Mankato hospital as had been planned.  As the fourth child of David “Evan” and Viola Bowen, she joined her older siblings, Gordon, Harlan and Katherine.  The kids were deemed “The Four Musketeers” by their mother, and Helen remained very close to them throughout their lives.

 

The Bowen family was full-blooded Welsh and truly embodied the saying, “To be born Welsh is to be born privileged, not with a silver spoon in your mouth, but with music in your blood and poetry in your soul.”  Music rang through the rooms of the small Bowen farm home, and the two sisters often sang duets at community events with their mother, Viola, accompanying them on the piano.  In time, Viola taught her daughters how to play as well.

 

Helen’s elementary years were spent in a one-room school house to which they arrived in the back of a friend’s pony cart.  Following her years of school at District #11 schoolhouse, Helen joined her siblings in riding the bus to the big new school in New Ulm which was a scary and challenging experience for her.  However, music once again stood her in good stead when she joined the school band with her clarinet and soon found a new group of school friends.

 

Upon graduating, Helen moved to Mankato to work at Brett’s Department store selling sewing notions and then at Hodapp & Wigge, a drug store.  While in Mankato, Helen roomed with a girl from Wells and joined her and her friends for dances at the Kato Ballroom.  It wasn’t long before Helen was asked to dance by one of those friends—Leon Chirpich, a handsome farmer from Wells.  Following a whirlwind courtship, Helen and Leon were engaged and married not long after on August 30, 1949.

 

The young couple set up their home on the family farm a few miles north of Wells and were soon enmeshed in farming and family life when their first son was born in August of 1950.  Five boys and six girls followed to make an even dozen children.  Even with such a large family, the Chirpichs were a mainstay every Sunday morning in the first pews of St. Casimir’s Church.

 

Throughout their marriage, Helen and Leon loved to travel and visited The Holy Land, Switzerland, Egypt, Rome and Hawaii.  The couple also enjoyed traveling stateside, and the family trips with the children packed in the back of their pickup camper are legendary!  After Leon’s passing, Helen continued to travel and visited Mexico, Venezuela and Peru with one or more of her children and Alaska with her sister and nieces.  Other interests included spending time with her friends in Homemaker County Extension, on bowling and golf teams and through card club.

 

In 1991, Leon and Helen moved from the family farm to a small home in the city of Wells which they extensively remodeled to ensure that the large holiday gatherings would continue to be held for the entire family.  However, Helen still returned to the farm fields each fall to serve as the official “stalk chopper”.  Helen also took up the hobby of quilt making, and those beautiful quilts are displayed in the homes of her children.  However, the one enduring skill that Helen shared throughout her life was her love of music—within the home, but also with the members of St. Casimir Church where she served as organist for over twenty years.

 

Being a grandmother was a delight for Helen, and her grandkids have many fond memories of playing Monopoly, Uno, Sequence and “The Game” with her.  They especially loved the fact that Grandma didn’t cut them any slack and made them earn their wins!  In Grandma Helen’s later years, putting together puzzles with the grandkids took the place of playing the piano and fishing.  Helen lived a life filled with faith, family, music and joy!

 

Surviving Helen are her children David (Judy) Chirpich, Steven (Robin Fisher) Chirpich, Mary (Armando) Rivas, Nancy (Jim) Perron, Denise (Doug Betten) Chirpich, Kevin Chirpich, Don (Teresa) Chirpich, Brenda (Scott) Kirkwood, Carolyn (Tony) Cadotte, Richard (Cathy) Chirpich, Peter (Judy) Chirpich and Janelle (Peter) Wold, twenty grandchildren and four great grandchildren.  Helen was preceded in death by her husband, parents, one sister and three brothers, including Ralph who died in infancy.

 

Visitation for Helen will be held at Nasinec Funeral Home in Wells Friday, October 27, 2023 from 4:00-7:00 PM, and a rosary will be prayed by all who wish to join at 3:45 PM.  There will also be visitation at St. Casimir Church one hour prior to the 10:30 AM Mass of Christian Burial on Saturday, October 28, 2023 with Helen’s nephew, Auxiliary Bishop Michael Izen, presiding at the Mass.  Burial will follow in St. Casimir Catholic Cemetery, and a reception will be held in the church hall.

 

In parting, let’s have Helen leave the final words when she wrote, “I am thankful to God for giving me faith, and thankful for His blessing of a kind, gentle and patient husband, Leon.  Of course, God really blessed both of us with our children, our masterpieces.  God has been good, good, good.”