1925
Margaret
2020
Margaret Louise Helleck
November 2, 1925 — December 4, 2020
Louise Boise Helleck, eldest daughter of Eugene and Margaret Zigan Boise, died December 4, 2020. She was born November 2, 1925 at the original Mercy Hospital in Roseburg, Oregon. She is survived by her younger sister, Marian Boise Crumb; 2 sons, Steven Patrick of Bend, OR and David Michael and his wife Gretchen of Newport Beach, CA; her very special niece Barbara, and nephews Dennis and Brian Crumb; grandchildren Juliann Helleck Rask and Patrick Helleck; great-grandchildren Ella, Victoria, Thaddeus Rask II, Mason Helleck and Skylar Harris.
As a youngster she attended the one room schoolhouse on Oak Creek Road that bordered her parent’s ranch. The 1175 acre ranch was purchased in 1920 by her father and his brother Charles, and here the family raised sheep, cattle, turkeys, chickens, and grew prunes. The Oak Creek School consolidated with the Glide School District, forcing Louise to ride to school on a bus rather than ride her horse to the schoolhouse. This change broke her heart, as she now had to wear dresses rather than blue jeans to school.
Louise loved living on the ranch, riding her horse, helping her father with chores, and swimming in the icy cold North Umpqua River. She enjoyed taking care of her pets and visiting with relatives that lived in big cities when they came west to learn about ranch life. Her first paying job was working for Fred Asam of the United States Forest Service, manning Illahee Rock Lookout for 3 summers up the North Umpqua while most of the boys were off fighting WWII. Illahee Rock was above Perry and Jesse Wright’s homestead. They became good friends of Louise. After graduating from high school, Louise attended Oregon State College and intended to get a degree in Forestry, but was told girls can’t be forest rangers. She then majored in Science/Education with the intent to teach. In 2000, Louise gave the commencement speech at Roseburg High School and told the girls in her speech that they could now be Forest Rangers if they desired.
Her first teaching job was at Marshfield Junior High in Coos Bay. She fell in love teaching 7th, 8th and 9th grade students. She later attended University of Oregon earning a Masters degree in Educational Counseling Psychology. She was also a certified Death and Dying Counselor, trained by Elizabeth Kubler Ross.
She fell in love with Julian Helleck, a teacher from West Virginia teaching at Empire Junior High, and the couple was married in 1949 in Coos Bay. Julian worked many years as the director of the juvenile office in Roseburg, Oregon and founded Pitchford Boys Ranch. Their two sons Steven and David completed their family. Julian died in 1967 following gallbladder surgery complications.
Louise had many highlights in her life, including traveling with her parents to their birth sites in North Dakota and Montana. High on her list of travels were visiting her Uncle Charlie’s estate near London, visiting the Holy Land, Egypt, Ukraine, Russia, Singapore, Tanzania, China, South America, rafting the Colorado River, visiting Red’s Horse Ranch in the Wallowas, and backpacking the Pacific Crest Trail.
Louise was appointed by two Governors to serve on the Oregon Trails Council. She was asked to create and pray the opening prayer at the Oregon Legislature during Governor Kitzhaber’s first term in 1995.
Her hobbies included gardening, flowers, photography, birds, hiking, camping at Diamond Lake, reading, and volunteering. In 2015, she received her 11,000 hour pin for volunteering at Mercy Hospital.
As a devout Roman Catholic, she came home from the Jesuit summer silent retreats in Los Altos relaxed and spiritually exhilarated. When she was younger, she taught Catechism and CCD classes to young Catholic adults.
She was a rabid murder mystery reader, and she also enjoyed historical novels. Lee Child, Tony Hillernan, C.J. Box, John Sanford, and James Patterson were among her favorite authors.
She truly loved life with a passion, and worked hard to give back as much as she received. She always said “Don’t judge a person until you have walked a mile in their shoes.” After living in the same home near her parents’ ranch for over 60 years, Linus Oakes became a wonderful home to complete her retirement.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to St. Joseph Catholic Church. ( https://sjfx-church.org/ ). A rosary, Mass, and celebration of life will be scheduled at a later date.
To send a flower arrangement or to plant trees in memory of
Margaret Louise Helleck, please click here to visit our Sympathy Store.
As a youngster she attended the one room schoolhouse on Oak Creek Road that bordered her parent’s ranch. The 1175 acre ranch was purchased in 1920 by her father and his brother Charles, and here the family raised sheep, cattle, turkeys, chickens, and grew prunes. The Oak Creek School consolidated with the Glide School District, forcing Louise to ride to school on a bus rather than ride her horse to the schoolhouse. This change broke her heart, as she now had to wear dresses rather than blue jeans to school.
Louise loved living on the ranch, riding her horse, helping her father with chores, and swimming in the icy cold North Umpqua River. She enjoyed taking care of her pets and visiting with relatives that lived in big cities when they came west to learn about ranch life. Her first paying job was working for Fred Asam of the United States Forest Service, manning Illahee Rock Lookout for 3 summers up the North Umpqua while most of the boys were off fighting WWII. Illahee Rock was above Perry and Jesse Wright’s homestead. They became good friends of Louise. After graduating from high school, Louise attended Oregon State College and intended to get a degree in Forestry, but was told girls can’t be forest rangers. She then majored in Science/Education with the intent to teach. In 2000, Louise gave the commencement speech at Roseburg High School and told the girls in her speech that they could now be Forest Rangers if they desired.
Her first teaching job was at Marshfield Junior High in Coos Bay. She fell in love teaching 7th, 8th and 9th grade students. She later attended University of Oregon earning a Masters degree in Educational Counseling Psychology. She was also a certified Death and Dying Counselor, trained by Elizabeth Kubler Ross.
She fell in love with Julian Helleck, a teacher from West Virginia teaching at Empire Junior High, and the couple was married in 1949 in Coos Bay. Julian worked many years as the director of the juvenile office in Roseburg, Oregon and founded Pitchford Boys Ranch. Their two sons Steven and David completed their family. Julian died in 1967 following gallbladder surgery complications.
Louise had many highlights in her life, including traveling with her parents to their birth sites in North Dakota and Montana. High on her list of travels were visiting her Uncle Charlie’s estate near London, visiting the Holy Land, Egypt, Ukraine, Russia, Singapore, Tanzania, China, South America, rafting the Colorado River, visiting Red’s Horse Ranch in the Wallowas, and backpacking the Pacific Crest Trail.
Louise was appointed by two Governors to serve on the Oregon Trails Council. She was asked to create and pray the opening prayer at the Oregon Legislature during Governor Kitzhaber’s first term in 1995.
Her hobbies included gardening, flowers, photography, birds, hiking, camping at Diamond Lake, reading, and volunteering. In 2015, she received her 11,000 hour pin for volunteering at Mercy Hospital.
As a devout Roman Catholic, she came home from the Jesuit summer silent retreats in Los Altos relaxed and spiritually exhilarated. When she was younger, she taught Catechism and CCD classes to young Catholic adults.
She was a rabid murder mystery reader, and she also enjoyed historical novels. Lee Child, Tony Hillernan, C.J. Box, John Sanford, and James Patterson were among her favorite authors.
She truly loved life with a passion, and worked hard to give back as much as she received. She always said “Don’t judge a person until you have walked a mile in their shoes.” After living in the same home near her parents’ ranch for over 60 years, Linus Oakes became a wonderful home to complete her retirement.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to St. Joseph Catholic Church. ( https://sjfx-church.org/ ). A rosary, Mass, and celebration of life will be scheduled at a later date.
To send a flower arrangement or to plant trees in memory of
Margaret Louise Helleck, please click here to visit our Sympathy Store.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Margaret Louise Helleck, please visit our flower store.
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