Helen Gutz, 1938 Osmond, Nebraska

I will thank my lucky stars for easily found obituaries once again. I would not know much about Helen were it not for hers. This is a splendid photo; I love the clasp on her shirt, the hair style. Helen is another 1938 graduate from Osmond High School in Osmond, Nebraska.

Helen was born October 4, 1919 to Amandus and Alvina Gutz. She was the 2nd youngest of about 8 children. The family lived in Foster, Pierce county, Nebraska in 1930 and 1940 – the same county as Osmond. There appeared to be a link to a Mr. Gansebom as her husband. But I had little evidence to go on – until I found her obituary in the Norfolk Daily News mobile site. She died on November 17, 2008, several years after her husband Everett Gansebom.

I’m going to go out on a limb and guess she was Lutheran (here are a few quotes from the Norfolk Daily News):

She was baptized on Oct. 26, 1919, at Immanuel Lutheran Church by Rev. William Brueggemann and confirmed on April 9, 1933, by Rev. Eric Holstein.

She attended school at District 34, a rural one-room elementary school, Immanuel Lutheran Parochial School and graduated from Osmond High School in 1938.

On Sept. 8, 1946, Helen was married to Everett Gansebom at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Osmond by Rev. Theo Weiting. They farmed southwest of Osmond and operated a diversified grain and livestock operation until they retired and moved into Osmond in 1982. Helen’s greatest joys were her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She also enjoyed working with her flowers and in her garden.

She was a member of the Immanuel Ladies Aid and the LWML. She regularly attended Tuesday morning Bible class and the ladies Wednesday Bible study. She was also a member of the VFW Auxiliary. She taught Sunday school for many years.

Now that’s a lot of great info packed into one obituary. The Lutheran’s were lucky to have you Helen!