Helen Sampson

Helen Mary Sampson, age 88, of Fridley, passed away on Saturday, April 8, 2017. Helen is preceded in death by daughters, Emily & Amy; parents, Joseph & Mary Skufca; brothers, Don & Joe. She is survived by children, Mark (Diana) Sampson & Carolyn Sampson (Kathy Connelly); grandsons, Adam & Judd (Jessica); 3 great-granddaughters.

Helen Mary Skufca Sampson was our beloved mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, and a giving and loyal friend to many. She was loving, insightful, adventuresome and intellectually curious about most everything. She was genuinely interested in people, learned every one's origin stories, and was kind to people that others overlooked, particularly service people. Helen had a great sense of humor and enjoyed a good joke especially if it involved clever plays on words or ideas. She had the gift of making you feel like the most fascinating person in the room when you talked with her.

Born and raised in Ely, Minnesota, Helen was the daughter of Mary Senta, a Slovenian immigrant and Joe Skufca, a first generation Slovenian by heritage. Her father Joe worked in the iron mines near Ely, but also had a career as a wilderness guide and helped introduce Sigurd Olson to what would later become the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Her mother Mary worked at the J.C. Penney store, made many of the clothes Helen wore (even prom dresses), and volunteered for many Ely area arts and Slovenian organizations.

Helen was very proud of her Slovenian heritage—anyone who knew her well probably can recollect at least one Slovenian word she taught them or Slovenian song she sang to them. She also was an unabashed Ely booster, telling everyone she talked to for more than a short while that they had to visit Ely, and have dinner or cocktails (or both) at historic Burntside Lodge. For many years, Helen vacationed at Burntside Lodge with members of her family, making it a sort of home away from home. She also stayed with lifelong friends on Little Long Lake, enjoying many sunsets together on the dock—and attending the 4th of July parade and annual Ely all-class reunion with them.

Neither of Helen's parents was fortunate to complete high school but both were avid readers and strong advocates of education. They both spoke perfect English with almost no 'Range' accent. Helen and her two brothers—Don (a mining engineer) and Joe (a professional musician)—all completed college degrees.

Helen was fortunate to have been born in Ely at a time the schools were richly supported by tax revenues from local mining and logging interests and when many of the Ely public school teachers held master's degrees. She was Snow White in the junior high play, sang in choir, played bass violin for a time, distinguished herself with letters in music and theater, and graduated with honors from high school. This great early education fueled her imagination and lifelong love of learning.

She attended Ely Junior College during 1946-48, serving on the student council, playing roles in a variety of plays and singing lead in a five piece band called Five by Five. Helen obtained a teaching certificate from St. Cloud State Teachers College in 1951. She later transferred to the University of Minnesota, earning a B.S. in Education and a minor in English literature, graduating in 1953 with honors.

Helen was a beautiful, well-liked young woman. She was elected Miss Ely in 1950 with the official title of 'Queen of the Roaring Stoney' (after a river near Ely). She represented Ely in the 1950 Minneapolis Aquatennial and was one of the bathing beauties on the cover of the 1950 Minnesota tourism guide.

In 1953 she married Wayne Sampson, and in 1954 their son Mark was born. Wayne's career in finance took them to Los Angeles in 1956 where daughter Amy was born in 1957. Tragedy struck when baby Amy died while the family was visiting Helen's parents in Ely the summer of 1958, from a previously undiagnosed congenital condition. Daughter Carolyn was born in 1959 in Los Angeles. In 1962 the family relocated to Fridley, Minnesota, following Wayne's career opportunities. There, they welcomed their last child, Emily, in 1965; Emily died in 2003 of breast cancer. Helen encouraged all of her children to excel in school and to explore their interests in sports, music, science and business. She was immensely and unreservedly proud of all of her children—as well as of her grandsons, Adam and Judd, and great-granddaughters, Chloe, Quinn and Emily.

Throughout her life Helen had a great work ethic. While a young girl in Ely she held many jobs—washing dishes at Basswood Lodge, her salad girls days at Burntside Lodge, and her stint as a soda jerk at Buff's. Among other jobs she worked to put herself through college, she was an accounts manager in Minneapolis for many years. Following college Helen taught school for several years, including at a one-room schoolhouse for a time. She even sold encyclopedias door-to-door as a young mother in Los Angeles.

While a resident of Fridley, she volunteered on the Riverwood PTA and local League of Women Voters. Helen never forgot her modest beginnings and from 1964-1977 she served in the Anoka County Office of Economic Opportunity, part of the War on Poverty created under President Johnson's Great Society (later known as Anoka County Community Action Program). She was recognized for her service by the Governing Board and awarded a plaque in 1977. She also helped create the first shelter in Anoka County for families experiencing domestic violence.

Helen loved to travel, and visited Europe, Scandinavia, Japan, Hong Kong, Bali, Australia, South America and Canada. She also traveled the U.S. extensively, but her favorite places were Ely and Paris. Her most recent major trip was with her daughters Carolyn and Emily, to Iceland and to Paris where they stayed at the Brighton Hotel across from the Tuileries Garden and the Louvre. She had many great travel stories, but being a lover of good food, she especially enjoyed telling people that the first time she had black beans and rice (at a time when Chef Boy R Dee was exotic) was at Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, and the first time she had Fettuccine Alfredo was at Alfredo's in Rome.

An avid and accomplished golfer (e.g. Sunbonnet Golf at the Golden Tee) and bowler, she was also a passionate follower of professional and college sports. (On her last day, the Masters Tournament in Augusta, Georgia, was streaming in the hospital room—at her insistence.) Helen was an enthusiastic member of the Fridley Dancers and bridge club. She enjoyed the Sunday crossword puzzles (in ink), and was killer at Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune. She frequently attended events at Thursday Musical, the Guthrie Theater, the Minnesota Orchestra and the Minnesota Opera. And she relished the weekly get together with the 'Lunch Bunch'.

Helen will be greatly missed by family and friends.

Memorial service will be held on Saturday, April 22, 2017, at Miller Funeral Home, 6210 Hwy 65 NE, Fridley, MN, at 11 AM with a visitation one hour prior. In lieu of flowers, memorials preferred to Fairview Hospice or the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation.