Helen Margaret (Sorensen) Bergman

Helen Margaret (Sorensen) Bergman, 92, of Britt, Iowa passed away Saturday, January 30, 2016, at Westview Care Center in Britt.

Funeral services will be held at 2:00 PM on Friday, February 5, 2016, at the United Methodist Church, 707 4th Street Southwest in Britt with Pastor Robert Dodge officiating.  Interment will take place at Evergreen Cemetery in Britt.

Visitation for Helen Bergman will be held on Thursday, February 4, 2016, from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM at Ewing Funeral Chapel, 178 Center Street West in Britt, and will continue one hour prior to services at the church on Friday.

Helen was born June 25, 1923, on a farm south of Clear Lake to Chris and Petra (Christensen-Bach) Sorensen.  Helen and her cousin, Ruby (born June 22), were baptized together September 9, 1923, in Clear Lake, by Zion Lutheran Pastor N.O. Peterson.  She attended country school, Mason City High School, and graduated from Clear Lake High School with the Class of 1941.  She worked as a telephone operator in Mason City.   She met her husband, Henry (Hank) Bergman, at the Surf Ballroom.  They were married December 30, 1947, at the Little Brown Church.  They lived a short time in Duncan, then made their home in Britt.  She was a homemaker who enjoyed her flower beds, cats, sewing, baking, and especially watching and feeding birds and squirrels in her yard.  Helen and Hank thoroughly enjoyed dancing together, most often at the Duncan Hall.  Helen worked and solved nearly every cryptogram and most crossword puzzles ever published in the Globe-Gazette.

Travel was a big part of her life:   including family vacations, Army reunions, and Danish Brotherhood Conventions.  After Hank died, she enjoyed many bus trips; and topped it off with a trip to Denmark.

Countless hours were spent working diligently on family history for both the Bergman and Sorensen sides.  Many hours were spent visiting cemeteries, archives, through letters and by phone; gathering information the “old school” way, before the internet was introduced.

Helen was always up to playing cards or games with family and friends.  She attended nearly all activities of her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.  She was a huge fan of the Heartland Diner in Britt, always looking forward to a chicken dinner.

She was a charter member of the Britt TOPS Club, and also belonged to the Danish Sisterhood and Brotherhood, VFW Auxillary, and Rebekahs.  She was a member of the Britt United Methodist Church, UMW, and Ruth Circle.

Helen is survived by her three children:  Laurie Eden, Britt; Diane (Doug) Schlei, Mason City, and David (Sally) Bergman, Britt.  Grandchildren and great-grandchildren:  Allen (Jen) Eden, Delaney, Brooklynn and Jackson; Brian Eden, Brylee and Berkley; Andrew (Megan) Schlei; Colin Schlei (Audrey Hohenstein and Jude); Benjamin (Alissa) Bergman, Brecken; Willie Bergman; and Holly Bergman and Kipton;  sister Edith Skene, Ventura; brother Hans (Beth) Sorensen, Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, along with many nieces and nephews, other family members and friends.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, Henry (1989), son-in-law Robert Eden, sisters: Olga Smeby and Frances Miller; brothers: Verner, Thorvald, and Irvin Sorensen, brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, and other extended family.

Helen was a loving mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother and will be dearly missed by her family and friends.