HELEN BRYAN

1931 - 2024

HELEN MARIE (VOSIKA) BRYAN Helen Marie (Vosika) Bryan, 93, of Olivia, formerly of Morton, passed away peacefully surrounded by family on Saturday, November 23, 2024, at Olivia Restorative Care Center in Olivia. Mass of Christian Burial will be held Wednesday, November 27 at 11 a.m. at St. Aloysius Catholic Church in Olivia. Visitation will be Wednesday from 9 - 11 a.m. prior to the funeral mass at the church. Arrangements are by Dirks-Blem Funeral Service of Olivia. Burial will be following the luncheon at St. John's Cemetery, Morton. In lieu of flowers memorials are preferred to St. Aloysius Catholic Church, Olivia, St. Catherine's Catholic Church, Redwood Falls, or Renville County Hospice. A livestream of the service will be available by using the following link:https://my.gather.app/remember/helen-bryan-2024 Helen Marie Bryan was born on April 27, 1931, in Olivia to Joseph James "J. J." and Mary (Halamka) Vosika. She grew up in Olivia and attended St. Aloysius Catholic School and graduated from Olivia High School in 1949. She worked in her parents' grocery store, Vosika Grocery, in downtown Olivia (Just for Coffee, formerly Master's). Helen married Gene Sheldon Bryan on February 7, 1950, at St. Aloysius Parish House in Olivia. They had three girls and raised them on a farm northwest of Morton by Beaver Falls Park and farmed there for 25 years. In 1975, they moved into their home in Morton. Helen moved to Olivia in 2020 and into the Olivia Restorative Care Center in 2021 until her death. She was a head start teacher's aide and a teacher in Morton and Franklin from 1966-1979. From January 1979 to June 1, 1993, she was an assistant cashier and then bank officer at State Bank of Redwood Falls, Morton Branch. In 1994 and 1995, she was employed part-time at Morton Public School as a receptionist/secretary. Then she worked at the Morton Mall. For several years she was a part-time bookkeeper for St. John's Catholic Church in Morton. Helen worked as an election judge for 20 years. For several years, Helen and Gene spent their weekends at Ye Olde Mill Inn on Green Lake. She was a member of the St. John's Catholic Church and a member of the St. John's Altar and Rosary Society and choir. Helen was the KOLACKY QUEEN, baking several thousand kolaches over her baking years. She loved her kitchen and enjoyed cooking and baking. She loved playing her piano, crocheting, embroidering, reading, and playing solitaire, walking and shopping, especially the MEA shopping trip each fall with her daughters, granddaughters and her great-granddaughter. Helen is survived by her three daughters: Patricia "Pat" Keltgen (Tom Gruendemann) of Olivia, Susan "Sue" (Curt) Sather of Olivia, Mary Jean (Patrick) Thiner of St. James; her grandchildren: Jane (Jon) Klenk of Mapleton, Nichole Keltgen (Bill Hart) of Minnetonka, and Shelby Thiner of Fairmont; her great-granddaughter Jamie Klenk of Mankato; her special friend and '4th daughter', Charlotte Serbus Burgemeister of Redwood Falls; and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband, Gene, in 1999; her parents; her sisters: Nettie Custer and Mary Blakemore; her brothers: Ben, Joseph F., James, Charles, and William; and her son-in-law, Nick Keltgen. Helen's family would like to extend a gracious thank you to the care team at Olivia Restorative Care Center and Renville County Hospice for the care and compassion that they showed her while she was there. BLESSED BE HER MEMORY