- Date Of Birth: April 4, 1929
- Date Of Death: November 2, 2016
- State: Montana
She was born on April 4, 1929 in Great Falls, Montana, the second oldest of four girls to Roger and Bertha Williams. She was raised with her sisters on a homestead on the Greenfield Bench near Fairfield, MT. She walked to grade school at Crow School in the area and then rode the bus to Simms High School where she graduated in 1947. She met her future husband, M. Wayne Duncan, there. She played trumpet in band and taught herself to play guitar. After graduation, she moved to Great Falls and worked as a nurse’s aide until she married Wayne on October 29, 1948. She became a full-time wife and mother in 1949 when they had their first of three daughters. They lived in Havre, Montana and Rudyard, Montana moving for Wayne’s job. They returned to Great Falls in 1958. After the two older daughters left home, she worked as a teacher’s aide at Riverview School and also as a lunch lady at CMR High School. When Wayne went into business as Duncan Accounting, she became his office manager who took care of putting together the client’s tax returns, preparing bills, scheduling appointments as well as nagging him to get those taxes done (this was according to Wayne).
Helen loved to camp with her sisters and their families. The whole family would sit around the campfire and tell stories.
Helen was an accomplished seamstress. She and her sisters participated in 4-H and they all made clothes for the State Fair. She made most of our clothes when we were younger. Out of the left-over material, she made copies for our Barbie Dolls. She made all of our wedding dresses. She crocheted and embroidered beautifully. She was an expert at all needle arts. She loved to read and do crossword puzzles. Helen was a Campfire Girl leader for all her girls.
Wayne and Helen also liked to travel. They went on ocean cruises, a riverboat cruise and went to Hawaii several times. Mom was the family photographer and prepared a scrapbook from almost every trip. She is responsible for the Hawaii 1, 2, 3 … trip slide shows we had to sit through.
Helen was the center of our family. She was our moral compass. Back when you taped movies on your VCR, Mom and Dad rented a movie, recorded it and then returned it. Mom was so nervous about it when she returned it that she blurted out, “We didn’t tape it.”
Helen and Wayne were very thrifty and didn’t spend money on themselves. They spent in on us, helping all of us through the years. She tried to encourage us to be thrifty by telling us, “you don’t need that.” To this day, we all hear that in our mind when we go shopping.
Helen’s sisters were her best friends. Mom was a caregiver for her mother, her sister-in-law, and her sister, Muriel. Helen loved us unconditionally. She was always supportive of everything we did.
Helen is survived by her sister, Marguerite Dahl and husband Leonard Dahl of Billings, Montana; her brother-in-law Gabriel Swan; her daughter, Julie Robbins and husband, Hal Robbins of Helena, MT; her daughter, Nancy DeVerse and husband, Michael DeVerse of Aberdeen, Washington; her daughter, Lisa Mongar and husband, Eric Mongar of Great Falls, MT; granddaughters, Ella DeVerse and Corissa DeVerse. She is also survived by many nieces and nephews.
Helen was preceded in death by her mother and father; her husband, Wayne; her sister, Muriel Hornaday, and husband, Lee Hornaday; and her sister, Roberta Swan.
The family would like to thank Lisa Mongar who put her life on hold to care for Mom this last year and Shelley Ragland, CNA, who was the other part of the team that cared for Mom. The family would like to thank the staff at Peace Hospice for their care of her for the short time she was there.
