Helen Margaret Peters Frank, 92
Helen Margaret Peters Frank, 92, died on Oct. 1, 2009, in Kalispell. She was born June 7, 1917, to Charles and Anna (Theis) Peters in Fowler.
She graduated from Conrad High School in 1935. After receiving her teaching diploma from Montana State Normal College in Dillon, she taught in one-room schools in Toole and Liberty counties from 1937-1946.
In 1946 she married Gustav Frank, and they lived in Chester. In 1950 they moved to Kalispell, where they purchased her father's farm in Mountain Brook and raised eight children. She was a school board member, 4-H Club leader, and substitute teacher for Mountain Brook and Cayuse Prairie schools. Helen was a member of St. Matthew's Catholic Church and made rosaries for missions.
She especially enjoyed her membership in the Mountain Brook Ladies Club and the camaraderie of her friends and neighbors. As a member of the club she poured her life into the community and the Mountain Brook School. In the early years of its organization the group crafted material dolls for children at the local hospital, and enjoyed putting together talent shows for fundraisers in which they performed silly plays (one of which was Sofapillio, and those who remember still laugh about it to this day). She helped the club publish three cookbooks and a collection of early community stories.
She loved to quilt and bake. As a member of the Ladies Club she made lap robes for the Veterans Home, quilts for the Abby Shelter, and pies for the Bigfork Convalescent Center. Some of the more ornate quilts were donated to raise funds for the Creston Volunteer Fire Department and the Mountain Brook Scholarship Fund.
Helen was known in the community for her apple pies and cinnamon rolls and delighted in teaching anyone (including her grandchildren) these skills. While she was still able to bake, it was well known that fresh cinnamon rolls would be on the kitchen table at 3 p.m. on any given Saturday, and she enjoyed having drop-in company to share them with.
Helen's lifetime hobbies were playing cards, reading, sewing, and gardening. She had a special affection for poetry and hummingbirds. As a lifetime learner she enjoyed sharing poems and stories with family and friends. When macular degeneration took her eyesight, she obtained talking books from the Blind and Low Vision program.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Gustav Frank; her son, Alan Frank; her sister, Amelia Schaefer; and her brother, Donald Peters.
Survivors include her siblings, Agnes Schaefer of Livingston, Rose Pester of Stanford, and Bud Peters of Ledger; her children, Clara and George Tennant, Tom and Joan Frank, Linda Frank, and Jerry and Cheryl Frank, of Kalispell; Gordon Joe Frank and Sybil Brown of Lakeside; Doris and Mike O'Brien of Idaho Falls, Idaho; and Nora and Kevin Flynn of Townsend; 10 grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.
The family extends a special thanks to the Mountain Brook Community, Ladies Club, and her pinochle pals for the friendship and love they brought to Helen's life. Many special friends graciously made sure she attended their gatherings long after her vision failed.
The family would also like to thank Hospice and the staff at Brendan House for their kind attention to Helen's needs. God bless you all for the work you do.
Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. on Oct. 5, at St. Matthew's in Kalispell, with burial to follow at Fairview Cemetery. A luncheon will follow in the church basement.
The family suggests that any memorial contributions be sent to Home Options Hospice, 175 Commons Loop, Suite 100, Kalispell, MT 59901; or the Mountain Brook Scholarship Fund (c/o Lin Knutson, 3280 Foothill Road, Kalispell, MT 59901).