Helen Mary Firkus, 86

Helen Mary Firkus of Amherst Junction died on April 10, 2024.

Helen’s Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Adalbert’s Catholic Church in Rosholt on April 24, 2024, at 11 a.m. with visitation at the church from 9:30 to the time of the funeral. The burial service will be held at the parish cemetery following the mass.

Heaven gained one sassy, strong and talented woman.

Helen was born on June 24, 1937. She was the sixth and youngest child born to Andrew and Frances Laska, growing up on a country farm, until moving to the small town of Rosholt. Helen graduated from Rosholt High School.

Shortly after graduation, she married Leonard Richter. Leonard was in a Polka Band called “The Checker Boys” and Helen loved to dance and go to wherever the band was playing. Helen and Leonard shared the same birthday, June 24.

The two of them had two little girls when Leonard passed away unexpectedly on March 11, 1960. Shortly after his death, their third daughter was born.

Five years later, Helen remarried a long-time declared bachelor and farmer, Laurence Firkus on January 16, 1965. Laurence moved Helen and the three girls to his family farm in Amherst Junction, and being a farmer’s wife became Helen’s new life, working beside Laurence on the farm.

Helen and Laurence were blessed with two more girls. Imagine a household with five daughters. Once they sold the farm in 1978, they moved to the Peru area to their new house with a huge yard for the future grandchildren to play and sled. Helen and Laurence loved to fish and spent a lot of time on various lakes. Laurence passed away on September 11, 1997. Helen had taken good care of Laurence during those last years with his illness.

In Helen’s younger years, she was an avid gardener, loved her flowers and had quite the vegetable garden. She had a root cellar full of canned vegetables and fruits.

Helen beautified their farm by having incredible flower gardens around the barn and milkhouse. She was most known for her ability to sew. She would sew clothes for her five daughters as they were growing up, including their wedding dresses. Then she started sewing amazing quilts. If you were gifted one of her quilts, or a wall hanging, you were indeed blessed with a piece of art.

Helen loved to bake. She made sugar cookies that were also a form of art and almost too pretty to eat. She would bake pies, and pumpkin, and banana bread, and loved sharing with the family. And let’s not forget her gizzard loaf and horseradish she would make for the sons-in-law.

In these past few years, when arthritis took over and she could not longer do these things she would read, talk on the phone for hours and loved going for rides and listening to polka music, or even singing polka songs, and if that ride happened to take you to the Polonia Café, that was a good thing, bacon cheeseburger and onion rings please.

And we can’t forget to mention Helen’s Christmas tree, it was picture perfect with her glass, crystal and gold ornaments. Helen would sit in her living room and just enjoy the beauty of it.

Helen is preceded in death by her two husbands, Leonard Richter and Laurence Firkus; her parents, Andrew and Frances Laska; her five siblings, Edwin, Evelyn, Raymond, Regina, and Alois. Helen also had many loved in-laws go before her from the Laska, Richter, and Firkus families.

Helen is survived by her five daughters and their families. There were no “in-laws” for Helen. If you married into the family, she was simply your mom or grandma. Her daughters are Barb (Paul) Koester, Arlene Goossen, Susie (John) Melum, Jenn (Wes) Batten and Judy (Arnie) Karpinski. Grandchildren, Tyler (Kellie) Melum, Justin (Angela) Bembenek, Adam (Andrea) Koester, Brad (Angie) Melum, Bethany & Tito, Chas (Stephanie) Bembenek, Amanda (Travis) Lepak, Katlyn Koester, Megan (Mike) Oksuita, Rachel (Cody) Larsen and Brittney Karpinski. Great-Grandchildren, Caleb, Cole, Carson, Alyssa, Livia, Kyson, Evan, James, Ellie, Gates, Oliver, Lily, Sky, Everett, Ethan and one more coming in June. Helen also had a few very special nieces in her life and held each of them very dearly in her heart, Annette Glodowski, Mary Literski, Sandy Wolf and Nancy Stuczynski.

The family would like to thank Chris Hamilton for the very special care she gave Helen these past few years as her caregiver. The two of them had a very special bond and as Helen would say “we got into trouble today.” The family would also like to thank The Willows in Iola for the incredible care they gave Helen this past week.

We hope you dance, mom ~ you are loved.