Helen Price

Helen Price, age 90, passed away peacefully on November 5, 2025 in Eden Prairie MN. She is survived by her husband Jerry, daughter Pam (Scott) Buehler, son Phil Price and grandson Matt Buehler, brother Bill Cotter and brother-in-law Jerry Friel. Helen was preceded in death by 8 siblings: Mary (Joe) Stecher, John (Winnie) Cotter, Betty (Ed) Godsill, Therese (Jim) Logsdon, Benita (Pat) McGinn, Jim Cotter, Bernie (Nancy) Cotter, and Nancy Friel.
Helen was born on May 17, 1935, in Tiskilwa, IL, to James Cotter and Marguerite (O'Neill) Cotter. Starting off in a one room school house in the country she graduated from St Mary's Academy in Navoo, Il. After graduation she moved to Davenport, IA where she started her career at the Rock Island Arsenal where she enjoyed NCO club Happy hours with friends. A mutual friend set her up with Jerry and they were married for over 64 years. Pam and Phil were born in Davenport and in 1967 they moved to Bloomington, MN. Her welcome to MN was a snowstorm with power outages and an intro to David Fongs, which become a favorite. Once Pam and Phil went off to college Helen took a job at Town Drug and enjoyed her time working there. They had the opportunity to move to Arizona with a transfer from Honeywell, while they were happy to leave the cold of MN it was tough at first to be away from family. They ended up loving Arizona and the stream of visitors that came down. After 30 years they returned to MN in 2018 to be closer to family.
She was proud of being 100% Irish and loved when dad would say "she got her Irish up". St Patrick's Day was a special day and celebrated every year, even though she didn't like green beer or sauerkraut & corned beef. She always a made every holiday special for the 4 of us, with decorations and fancy dinners. Helen showed us in many ways how much we were loved, from making sure we ate breakfast as a family every morning to carrying hot water from the house to fill our kiddie pool so we could play right away. She and Dad gave us many opportunities to grow, from cross country ski lessons as a family, to time at orchestra hall, Chanhassen dinner theater or a show at Northrup Auditorium. Even the extreme of taking a 2nd and 4th grader up to the Boundary Waters camping, which only happened once!
Helen will be remembered for her love of family, both near and far, and she treasured her time with them. Her grandson, Matt brought joy and love to her and she treasured every minute with him. She loved to play cards and was extremely competitive. She was everyone's favorite mom, organizing kickball games in the neighborhood and starting family water fights with dad.we sang, we danced, we played together and we always knew we were
loved. Famously known for her Helen-isms, including her signature finger point and stealing ice from others drinks just to name a few. She will be missed beyond words and remembered forever.
Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:30am on Friday November 14, 2025 at Nativity of Mary Catholic Church at 9900 Lyndale Avenue S Bloomington MN 55420. Visitation at the church starting at 10am. No flowers please, Helen asked that everyone plant a tree instead. Memorials to charity of donor's choice in Helen's name preferred.
We want to thank the staff of Summit Place Reflections, St Croix Hospice and Dr Christina Stavig from Park Nicollet for the kindness and care you gave to mom.