Carol Jean Helland

Carol Jean Helland

Carol Jean Helland, 75, of Aurora, MN, went to her eternal home with her Savior Jesus Christ on Friday, January 9, 2026.

She was born on March 5,1950 to Earl and Helen Anthony and she was raised in Le Sueur, MN. Carol attended Le Sueur High School, graduating from the Class of 1968. She graduated from Winona State University with her BS degree with disciplines in Speech/Theatre Arts/English. While attending college, she met her future husband, Barry Helland. The couple married on June 26, 1971.

After college, they moved to Edina where she worked at a film production company. They relocated to Duluth where Carol was hired by the Congdon family to work in the corporate office of the Glensheen Mansion. She left the job when she was offered her first teaching job at a Christian school in Duluth. Carol and Barry then moved to the Iron Range in Aurora, MN, where they worked at the McKinley Christian Academy. They had three children and raised them in Aurora.

Carol loved teaching and she furthered her education earning a Master in Education from The College of St. Scholastica. In 1991, Carol went to work at Mesabi Community College where she taught English. After 14 years of teaching, she became the Dean of Academic Affairs of Mesabi Range College. She was later hired as the Provost of Mesabi Range College and Rainy River College until her retirement in 2017.

As much as she loved teaching in the college, Carol's greatest passion was teaching women about the Lord. She fervently taught that salvation and heaven are a gift from God by simple faith in Jesus Christ and His finished work on the cross.

Carol was an active member of Heritage Trail Bible Church where she taught at Vacation Bible School and she directed or narrated years of Christmas cantatas. She taught for the Grace Institute of Biblical Studies for thirty-three years, spoke for decades at an annual Ladies' Bible Retreat, and taught a series of women's Bible messages from the fall through the spring every year after her retirement.

Carol enjoyed hosting family and friends at her home, spending time with her children and grandchildren, journaling, writing, and traveling. Her most memorable trip was the trip of a lifetime to the Holy Land in Israel where she walked in the same footsteps as her Savior in 2023. She is now in glory with her Savior, but will be greatly missed by her family, friends, and colleagues on earth.

Survivors include her husband of 54 years: Barry; three children: Melissa (Gordy) Linn of Deland, FL, Heather (Dominic) Fischer of Fargo and Gregg (Stacey) Helland of Grand Rapids; grandchildren: Phoenix, Pax, Loudon and Arden; and one brother, Paul (Pam) Anthony of Burnsville.

She was preceded in death by her brother, Scott Anthony and her parents.

Funeral service will be 12:00 p.m. Saturday, January 24, 2026 at Heritage Trail Bible Church in McKinley. Visitation will be from 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. at the church. Interment will be at the Rauha Cemetery in Palo. Arrangements are by the Ziemer-Moeglein-Shatava Funeral Home in Aurora. Memorials are kindly preferred in lieu of flowers.