Helen Mahnke

Helen Mahnke, beloved mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, passed away on September 7, at the age of 94.

Helen was born to Violet and Wilbur Work on October 7, 1928, in Sioux City, Iowa. She was the fourth in a family of six children. As the eldest daughter, she played an active role in raising her two younger sisters as well as in helping her family during WWII, when all three of her older brothers joined the military and served overseas.

Helen was attending college when she met her husband, Roland Mahnke. They were married on July 22, 1945, in Wayne, Nebraska. In the late 1950s, the couple moved to Montana with their three boys, Terry, Greg, and Mark. After a brief stay in Great Falls, the family relocated to Billings, where Roland managed the regional Boise Cascade office.

In Billings, Helen enjoyed a successful career in real estate. While working at the Parks Company and later at Floberg Realty, she won numerous “Agent of the Year” awards. Based on her success as an agent, Helen easily moved up to the level of real estate broker and eventually co-owned and operated one of the most successful ReMax offices in the upper Northwest. Later, with her close friend and fellow realtor, Mimi Parks, Helen started the Silver Service, specializing in real estate for seniors. Together, they helped clients downsize and take other steps to realize their retirement goals and dreams.

The ultimate entrepreneur, Helen pursued other complementary business opportunities. For several years, she co-owned the Country Squire, a motel in Stowe, Vermont's popular ski resort community. Later, she purchased and managed a toy store, the Wooden Duck, on the Oregon Coast.

Upon retirement, Helen spent her winters in Sun City West, Arizona. There, she, her brother Bob, and his wife, Lola, enjoyed many wonderful times together. They explored the history and culture of the American Southwest as well as of Mata Ortiz, Mexico, which they visited on numerous occasions in search of pottery. They played golf, picnicked in the White Tank mountains, and traveled together to every corner of Arizona and New Mexico. Lola and Helen learned to make beautiful jewelry with a Southwest flair, and their keen interest in Southwestern history led the two of them to volunteer at the Heard Museum in Phoenix. No matter how busy they were during the day, however, each evening was set aside for “wine time” when Helen, Bob, and Lola would gather to reflect together on the events of the day and plan their next adventure.

Helen enjoyed many additional pastimes, including reading, playing bridge, and traveling. However, her greatest joy came from spending time with her family. She played a major role in the lives of her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, and she took great pride in their accomplishments. Over the years, many happy family memories were made at Helen's cabin in Silver Gate, Montana.

Helen was preceded in death by her three brothers, Wilbur, Frank, and Bob; her husband, Roland; and her son Terry. She is survived by two sisters, Betty Osterholt and Carol Johnson; her sister-in-law Lola Work; her son Greg and his wife, Kathleen; her son Mark and his partner, Sally Sjaastad; her daughter-in-law, Carol; three grandsons, Daus (Sheela), Kerr, and Jon (Laura); four great-grandsons, Gibson, Ryman, Ambrose and Sam; and numerous nieces and nephews.

The family would like to thank the staff of West Park Village for their kind and compassionate care.

A service for Helen will be held at Dahl Funeral Chapel, on Saturday, September 23, at 1:00 p.m. Graveside service to follow. If you would like to celebrate her life with a memorial, we invite you to make a donation in her honor to YWCA Billings/909 Wyoming Avenue/Billings MT 59101. ywcabillings.org