Helen I. Robertson

 

Helen Irene Hardeman Robertson died November 15, 2022 at Sage Living Center in Jackson,
Wyoming at the age of 90 with her family present.
Helen was the fourth and youngest child of Gerrit and LaMar Hardeman and was delivered by
Dr. Huff at the family homestead north of Kelly, Wyoming on July 9, 1932. Theirs was a loving
family who valued integrity and hard work.
Helen’s brother, Earl, once calculated that the Hardeman children each rode over 10,000 miles
on horseback to the Kelly school to receive an eighth grade education. The four children always
rode bareback as their dad believed it to be safer for them and, of course, it was warmer in the
winter.
After Helen’s eighth grade year, her mother moved into Jackson in the winter months so the
children could attend high school without winter travel from Kelly to Jackson. Helen excelled at
basketball, playing as a guard. She was a fast and worthy opponent.
Helen married the love of her life, Warren Robertson, on March 1, 1950 at the Robertson family
home in Jackson. Their marriage would be a love story that would endure for over 63 years until
Warren’s death in 2013.
Warren and Helen’s family arrived quickly with Irene’s birth in May of 1951, Gene in January of
1953, and Lois in March of 1954. By age 21, she had three children under the age of four. By age
41 she was a grandmother, and by age 68 she was a great-grandmother. Whatever her children
were involved in, whether 4-H or rodeo club, she was an ardent supporter. She was fiercely
devoted to her family for the entirety of her life.
Almost all of Helen’s life centered on ranching, first with helping her parents, and then as a
ranch wife. Warren managed the Jackson Hole Hereford Ranch in South Park for over 45 years,
and Helen was a ready partner in all that he did.
Warren and Helen inherited property in Wilson, WY from her parents, and they built their own
home on Main Street, finishing it in 1978. With Warren’s partial retirement in the 1970’s, Helen
and Warren spent many winters in Arizona traveling in an RV or fifth wheel trailer and later
staying in retirement resorts. She lived the majority of her life in Jackson Hole except for brief
moves to Hamilton, MT, to Dubois, WY and twelve years in Worland, WY. Their move to
Worland in 2005 brought them nearer to their son’s family and the ranch life they loved.
During the 1990’s, Helen and Warren had the foresight, along with brother Howard, to develop
the Wilson property into what is now H-H-R and Wilson Meadows subdivisions. They
understood that ranching in Jackson Hole had become unsustainable for them and believed
housing was sorely needed. This decision extended the legacy of Gerrit and LaMar to multiple
generations.
In March of 2017 Helen moved from Worland to Legacy Lodge in Jackson, WY with her little
Yorkie named Daisy May. She made many wonderful friends and renewed old acquaintances.
Because of poor health in the fall of 2018, Helen made another move to St. John’s Living Center
and then later to the new Sage Living Center. Although declining memory plagued the last years

of her life, she continued to enjoy the people she met. Her kindness and compassion for others
endured to the end, and she leaves behind many loving caregivers whom she appreciated.
Helen was preceded in death by her parents, Gerrit and LaMar Hardeman, her husband Warren,
brothers Earl and Howard Hardeman, her sister Marie Hardeman Stilson, her niece Lucille
Stilson McKinney, her son-in-law John Shaffer, and just recently, her daughter Lois Robertson
Shaffer.
She is survived by her daughter Irene (Rich) Steeg of Wilson, WY, her son Gene (Kris)
Robertson of Hyattville, WY, her grandchildren Amanda (Cal) Tharp of Hyattville, WY, Bruce
(Jenny) Robertson of Crowheart, WY, Susanna (Kristopher) Thornhill of South Jordan, UT,
Ashley Steeg of Jackson, Heather (Matt) Seaton of Saratoga, NY, Amber (Thomas) House of
Salem, AL and Jennifer (Chris) Jackson of Roaring Branch, PA, twelve great grandchildren, two
sisters-in-law and multiple nieces and nephews.
There will be a viewing at the Grand Teton Funeral Home on Thursday, December 1, 2022 from
4:00 to 6:00 p.m. for family and close friends. A Celebration of Life service is scheduled for
Friday, December 2, 2022 at First Baptist Church, Jackson, WY at 11:00 a.m. A luncheon will
follow for all.