Helen Alvina Koskela

Helen Alvina Koskela, age 100, of Menahga, Minnesota, passed away on Wednesday, January 8, 2026, at Green Pine Acres Nursing Home, in Menahga. The funeral service for Helen will at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, January 15, 2026, at Sebeka Apostolic Lutheran Church in Sebeka, Minnesota, with a time of gathering an hour prior. The burial will take place in spring at Balmi Cemetery near Wolf Lake.  

Helen was born on April 8, 1925, in Blueberry Township near Menahga, to Matt and Lydia (Leinenon) Haverinen. She attended the District 28 South Brookside Country School and went on to attend Menahga High School. As a young woman, Helen ventured to Minneapolis, MN where she gained employment doing domestic work for a time. On May 28, 1952, Helen was united in marriage to Vernon R. Koskela in Blueberry Township. Vern and Helen owned a dairy farm near Wolf Lake, Minnesota, until 1976, when they sold the farm and moved to Menahga. In 1978, Helen began working in the kitchen at Green Pine Acres Nursing where she worked until her retirement in 1992. Helen enjoyed working on the farm, homemaking, and gardening. Helen was a member of the Apostolic Lutheran Church in Sebeka.

Helen was preceded in death by her parents; Matt and Lydia; her husband, Vern; a son in infancy; her five sisters: Leona Haverinen, Edna (Robert) Berttunen, Elaine (Walter) Skoog, Lillian Lustila, and Dorothy (Ray) Hillukka; four brothers: Clifford, Edwin, Leonard, and Authur Haverinen; and a brother-in-law, Rodney Salmen.

Helen is survived by a sister, Elsie Salmen of Menahga, MN; one brother, Douglas (MaryAnn) Haverinen of Menahga, MN; a sister-in-law, MaryAnn Haverinen of Menahga, MN; as well as a host of nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.