Helen Harris

Helen Hunkler Harris, 102, Bismarck, died June 6, 2007, at a Bismarck care center. Funeral services will be held at 10:30 AM Thursday at the Marillac Manor Chapel in Bismarck with the Rev. Ed Wehner officiating. Burial will be in the St. Philip Neri Catholic Cemetery in Napoleon. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service at Marillac Manor where an evening prayer service will be held Wednesday at 7 PM. Helen Hunkler was born on April 29, 1905, on a farm approximately 14 miles east of Napoleon, North Dakota, the daughter of John and Frederica Buck Hunkler. Helen was the second of nine children, consisting of five girls and four boys. Her parents operated a combined grain and livestock operation. Helen attended a rural Highland District school, where she completed eighth grade. When she was in about the fifth grade, Miss Marie Teders from Minnesota was hired to teach at the school, following the recommendation of the county superintendent and acceptance by the school board. Miss Teders taught at the school for three years. She boarded with the Hunklers, who were not Catholic. Miss Teders was a staunch Catholic and brought Helen's older brother, Roy, into the Catholic faith. He later became Father Adam, a Catholic priest. Through his determination and love of the faith, the entire Hunkler family was baptized and became Catholics in 1922. From this conversion came two priests, a sister, and a permanent deacon. As a student, Helen loved mathematics and grammar. She graduated from Bismarck High School in 1924. Then she attended Ellendale Normal School, where she was awarded a teacher's certificate. For three years she taught in a country school near her home. Next she moved to Bismarck where she worked at Montgomery Ward's store. Helen soon met a young man who also worked at Montgomery Wards, Lloyd B. Harris, who had been sent out from St. Paul to do electronic work. Soon their meetings were more frequent, as they became better acquainted. Helen accepted his proposal of marriage and became Mrs. Lloyd B. Harris on January 15, 1930. After the wedding, the couple moved to Minneapolis, where Helen worked for Dayton's and Lloyd operated an electronics shop. They lived there for over ten years. This was during the depression of the Thirties. Helen and Lloyd next decided to purchase a 1935 Dodge sedan and they started out for California, by way of Bismarck. In Bismarck, Helen and Lloyd were met by Helen's sister and her five small children, who were about to leave for San Jose, California, to join her husband who worked for the Santa Fe Railroad. Helen's brother was also going along. Instead of going by train as they had planned, the group accompanied Helen and Lloyd, all five children and four adults riding in their four-door car. On September 6, 1941, they crossed the Cody Pass in Wyoming. When they exited on the other side, they found that they were very lucky, since they were just ahead of a heavy snowfall and blizzard which blocked the road they had only recently driven over. They had a narrow escape. What might have happened if the car had stalled and been covered by snow? In those days a storm like this would have blocked the road until after the spring thaw. The roads weren't what they are today. On December 7, 1941, Helen and Lloyd drove to the top of Mt. Hamilton to visit the world famous Lick Observatory, which has a 120-inch reflector. On the way down the mountain, they learned from the car radio that Pearl Harbor had been bombed. Returning home, they found the city populace very excited and anxious, fearing that they might soon be under attack by the Japanese. Lloyd then joined the Signal Corps. He was transferred to Fort Lewis and later to Bremerton, both in Washington. Helen worked as the Post Exchange and for the Armed Forces in downtown Seattle. After World War II, Lloyd was transferred to the Naval Air Base at Alameda, California. He had spent 19 years in the Navy when the couple returned to Bismarck, where they managed the Gold Bond store for six years and then the Colonial Motel until 1975, when they retired and moved to Napoleon. Helen and Lloyd lived there for about ten years. On April 11, 1986, Lloyd died. Helen and Lloyd had been married for over 56 years. Helen has many happy memories of their years together. In August of 1988, she moved to Marillac Manor. Helen and Lloyd had taught C.C.D. for some 24 years and they helped out in various areas of parish work. For many years, Helen was an active member of the Immaculate Conception Court of the Catholic Daughters in Bismarck. When asked what she liked about Marillac Manor, Helen quickly responded: "I like the people, they are absolutely beautiful. I just can't show then enough appreciation for what they mean to me." Helen appreciated having the opportunity to pray and attend Mass in the chapel. Helen also loved her volunteer work at St. Vincent's Care Center. She said: "The staff is great, and it gives me joy to work with the residents." She also was one of the readers who read Scripture during daily Masses, both at Marillac Manor and at St. Vincent's. Helen cared for many people including her nephew, Dennis Hunkler, when burned, took care of her mother the last few years of her life, and cared for her sister, Mae, for many years while a resident of St. Vincent's. Helen was always there for any member of her family who needed some loving care. She is survived by her sisters, Sr. Mary Jane Hunkler OSB, and Frances Roehrich; local nieces, Susan Roehrich, Cecilia Reetz, and Sr. Marie Hunkler; local nephew, Fr. Jerome Hunkler; and many other nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, John and Frederica Buck Hunkler; her husband, Lloyd B. Harris; her brothers, Fr. Adam Hunkler OSB, Deacon Howard Hunkler, Lawrence Hunkler, and Fr. Ignatius Hunkler OSB; and her sisters, Alice Ruffner and Mae Hunkler.

Helen Harris

April 29, 1905 - June 6, 2007