Peter P. Hellman

Peter P. Hellman, 85, Bismarck, passed away August 15, 2016 at his residence in Bismarck. Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 1:00 pm on Monday, August 22, 2016 at St. Joseph Catholic Church, Mandan, ND with Rev. Shane Campbell as celebrant. Burial will be at Mandan Union Cemetery with Military Honors provided by the Mandan VFW Post #707 and American Legion Post #40. Visitation will be held Sunday, August 21, 2016 from 2:00-7:00 pm at Weigel Funeral Home, with a Knights of Columbus Rosary at 5:00pm followed by a Parish Vigil. Visitation will continue at the church one hour prior to the service on Monday. Pete was born on April 28, 1931 to Mike and Magdelena (Boehm) Hellman in Mandan, ND. He was raised northwest of Mandan attending rural schools until the 8th grade. He attended Mandan High School, graduating with the class of 1949. In 1952 Peter married Rose Nordstrom. They had 2 children, Bruce Douglas and Susan Diane. Pete worked for numerous Mandan businesses until 1953 when he started work as a plumber for Sanitary Plumbing and Heating where he was employed for 14 years. He then went to work for Cofell Plumbing & Heating where he worked for 3 years and most of that time was spent working at Medora during the building of Medora into a North Dakota tourist attraction and the expansion of the Medora musical. In 1968 Peter started his own business, Hellman’s Plumbing & Heating. After a short period he was joined by a partner, Duane Hellman. Hellman’s Plumbing & Heating was run as a joint partnership until 1976. Peter continued Hellman’s Plumbing & Heating as a sole venture and in 1982 he also started Hellman’s Car Care Center. He later sold the car care business and continued with the plumbing business until 1997 when he retired because of health reasons. Peter married Joyce (Pfenning) Howry in 1984. They were married in Reno, Nevada where they enjoyed spending time seeing the sights, visiting friends and gambling. Peter also enjoyed roller skating and horseback riding when he and Joyce first met. They also loved to dance, especially the Polka. He also loved to camp and fish and enjoyed being a member of a group he formed called the “Winner-Wanna-Bees”, which was a group of friends who would get together once a month at the casino, pool their money and try to win big. Peter was outgoing and enjoyed being the life of the party and playing his accordion. Peter also enjoyed a fun game of pinochle with friends. Peter was a member of the American Legion, Eagles, AMVETS, Elks and Moose Clubs. He belonged to the Mechanical Contractors Association, of which he was president in 1971. He also belonged to the Bismarck-Mandan Musicians Union, volunteered with the Elks clowns and was a local weather sky watcher. He was a member of the 188th Army Engineers during the Korean Conflict. He belonged to the FFA boxing team from 1945-1949, where his nickname was “haymaker.” Peter will be deeply missed by his wife of 32 years Joyce; son-in-law, Barry Kindsvogel; sisters-in-law, Helen and Dorothy Hellman; brothers-in-law, Jerome (Vi) Pfenning, Darold (Marlys) Pfenning, Clyde (Cindy) Pfenning and Joel (Lora) Pfenning along with numerous nieces and nephews and very dear friends, Rodney and Arlene Unruh. Peter was preceded in death by his parents; his son, Bruce and daughter, Susan Kindsvogel; sisters, Kathryn (Jack) Immel, Barbara (Chester) Bryniarski and Agnes (Christ) Ressler and brothers, Frank and Adam.