- Date Of Death: June 16, 2007
- State: Minnesota
George Julius Helmstetter, age 85, of Roosevelt, MN passed away on June 16, 2007 at the Roseau Area Hospital.
George was born on October 15, 1921 to Martha (Porter) and Charles Helmstetter, who had acquired a homestead in Lake of the Woods County in 1908. He grew up helping out on the family farm with older brother Everett and sisters, Edith and Edna. Then, upon the death of their father, George and Everett, at the young ages of sixteen and eighteen, took over the farm. George and Joyce Tveit were married on December 21, 1944. Their children, daughter, Teresa and son, Stevan both graduated from the University of Minnesota. Stevan took over the farm when George and Everett retired in 1987. Teresa, married to Jerry Mathiason, teaches in Minneapolis.
George was active in community affairs, serving as chairman of the Roosevelt School Board for many years then, on the Warroad School Board after consolidation. He also served for many years as Chairman of the Northern Farmers Co-op Exchange.
As a young man, George dreamed of learning to fly. Eventually, in the ’60s, he realized his dream by acquiring a pilot’s license and a Piper PA12, which he used to explore less accessible areas of Lake of the Woods with Everett and Steve. George also enjoyed and committed many hours to reforesting marginal agricultural land. He and his brother, Everett, planted thousands of ash, spruce, cedar and pines over a 40 year period.
George especially enjoyed the company of his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
