Helen Igoe

Helen H. Igoe, 87, Bismarck, died peacefully January 30, 2008 at St. Alexius Medical Center, Bismarck. Services will be held at 1:00 pm Monday at Parkway Funeral Service, 2330 Tyler Parkway, Bismarck with Rev. Paul Becker officiating. Burial will be in St. Mary's Cemetery, Bismarck. Visitation will be held from 1:00 pm until 9:00 pm Sunday at Parkway Funeral Service and continue one hour prior to the service at the funeral home. Helen Babe Igoe was born on June 28, 1920, in McClusky, ND, to Helen and Charles Schwartz. She graduated from Bismarck High School and attended one year of commercial college before marrying James J. Igoe Sr. in Chicago, IL, on May 25, 1941. After Jim's tour in the Navy, they settled in Bismarck. Together they raised nine children and built Igoe Construction, Igoe Sand and Gravel and Atlas Ready Mix. Helen and Jim shared their love for dance and were both inveterate bowlers. Upon their retirement in 1981, Jim and Helen spent their winters in Lake Havasu City, AZ. Helen sold her Arizona home in 2000 and returned to be a full-time Bismarck resident. Helen was a true lady whose love of family was first and foremost throughout her life. She was a generous and thoughtful soul. She encouraged her grandchildren to further their education through the establishment of an education fund; her generosity to the Bismarck community is most evident in her gift of Igoe Park to Bismarck and her gift of time as a Cub Scout Leader to Bismarck youth. Helen was a gracious host to family, friends, and friends of family, at both her home in Bismarck and her cabin at Lake Isabel. She was a great cook, seamstress, gardener and homemaker. She was a good sport with abundant energy who loved to swim, boat, ski, skate, ride horseback, dance and bowl with her children well into her senior years. She is survived by eight children, Tolly Byron Holtan of Garrison, ND, Irish Joe Linnertz of Bismarck, ND, Kitty Jerry Martin of Pueblo West, CO, Jeanette Igoe of Estero, FL, James Ellen Igoe of Bismarck, ND, Patricia Igoe of Jackson, MS, Susan Joe Parham of Lake Havasu City, AZ and Dan Peggy Igoe of Centennial, CO; 23 grandchildren and 29 great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews. Helen was preceded in death by her husband, James J. Igoe, Sr.; a son, John Charles Igoe; a grandson, James Scott Slocum; her parents and five siblings.

Helen Igoe

June 28, 1920 - January 30, 2008