Obituary of Astrid Helmle

Astrid "Judy" Helmle September 3, 1923 - October 23, 2016 Resident of Santa Cruz Astrid "Judy" Helmle was born on September 3, 1923 in Kintyre, ND and passed away in Lodi, CA on October 23, 2016 at the age of 93. Judy was born to Norwegian immigrants, Rasmus & Martha Kleppe, whom she got her pretty Norwegian blue eyes from. She received her business education while she lived in Bismarck, ND and went on to work as an auditor at the Bismarck State Capitol. A few years later she move to Los Angeles, CA and then to Stockton, CA a few years after that, working as an office manager for insurance companies in both locations. While in Stockton, during WWII, she worked for the Army Depot as an office manager and bookkeeper. Her friends in Stockton suggested that she move to Lodi and that they wanted to introduce her to a nice man. His name was Orville Helmle and they were married on February 26, 1949. Orville, being tired of the heat, moved himself and Judy to Santa Cruz, CA where he supported his new family building and remodeling houses, working for the Santa Cruz Post Office and Fire Department as well as the Sentinel and as a commercial fisherman for a period of time. During this time they gave birth to their two wonderful children, Dennis Paul Helmle in 1950 and Ruthie Kay Helmle in 1957. Later on Orville and Judy purchased a Mobile Home Park and she was the park manager and bookkeeper. They always entertained guests and had grand parties with all of their friends. They also traveled all over the world together. They attended the Twin Lakes Church and were active members, establishing many great friendships that lasted a lifetime. She was the Co-Chairman for the Christian Women's Club for many years. Besides singing in the church choir for over 45 years Judy was also very talented musician played the Harmonica, Lap Organ, Guitar, Piano and Organ. Judy is survived by her children, Dennis and Ruthie and her two grandchildren, Kayla and Kevin. She was preceded in death by her husband of 67 years, Orville Elgin Helmle, on April 12, 2016; her parents; her brothers, Olaff and Ross Kleppe; her sister, Ellenor Kleppe; as well as all of her cousins and nephews. She was the very last of her generation. She will be missed by all who knew her. She Services will be held at Santa Cruz Memorial - Oakwood Chapel at 3301 Paul Sweet Rd. in Santa Cruz on Saturday, October 29, 2016 at 11:00 a.m. **Her Eulogy form her service on Saturday, October 29, 2016 (Written by her daughter, Ruthie) Astrid was born Sept. 3, 1923 in Kintyre, North Dakota. Her parents were immigrants from Norway and farmed wheat in Kintyre. Mom always talked about growing up on the farm and had great stories to tell about her life on the farm. She had a favorite horse, Tango, whom she would ride bareback to and from school. She loved to milk the cows and spray milk at all the cats lined up for their daily feeding. In the summer she and her siblings would play and jump into the large hay bails and in the winter they would go ice skating on the frozen ponds. She was raised with her brother Ross, brother Olaf and sister Elly. As Elly liked to work out in the fields with the men, Judy preferred to be in the kitchen with her mom baking and cooking. She has said that she would never have traded any place to live other than the family's farm. It was great! She is preceded in death by both her brothers and sister. Astrid attended a two-year business college and then was hired to work at the state capital which she loved. During this time, her schoolfriends decided that mom's name was too hard to pronounce, so they came up with the name, Judy. She was called Judy from that day forward. Judy travelled to Lodi, CA with a girlfriend during those times and it was in Lodi where she met Orville. They dated for a year and were married in Lodi, CA and recently celebrated their 67th wedding anniversary. Orville hated the hot weather in Lodi, so he and Judy moved to Santa Cruz in their twenties and remained there to raise their family. Their son Dennis was born in 1950 and their daughter Ruthie, was born in 1957. Orville and Judy attended Twin Lakes Baptist church and were very active in the church. Judy sang in the choir for many years and was also co-chairman of the Christians Women's Club. They met many life-long friends at Twin Lakes and were always enthusiastic about going to church. They were both Christians and proud of it. When Orville purchased a mobile home park, Judy was the bookkeeper for that business, along with being a housewife and mother. Her days were filled with the park people always coming to visit her and raising a family. Judy and Orv entertained often and were always having a party or going to a party along with all of the church functions. She loved to bake and cook and during Christmas would make all of her special Norwegian cookies like Krumkager and others. Orv and Judy loved to travel. They went to Hawaii numerous times, took a cruise to Alaska and also a cruise thru the Panama Canal. One Christmas Orville surprised the family with tickets to Europe for a 6 week vacation visiting several countries, but spending the most time in Norway. Judy visited with her family there and had a great time. She was a true Norwegian and very proud of it. Often, out in public she would go right up to a stranger and ask where they were from. She was always elated if she found a Scandinavian friend, or better yet, someone from Norway. Every February they would travel to Palm Springs with two or three other couples from Santa Cruz and spend a month there in their travel trailers or motor coaches. One of the greatest moments of Judy's life was when she became a Grandma. Her granddaughter, Kayla was born in 1989 and her grandson, Kevin was born in 1993. She cherished her time with her grandkids and always wanted them to come visit. Later in life, she developed some health issues. She was a Breast Cancer survivor at the age of 70. Then into her eighties she was diagnosed with Alzheimers. Alzheimers and complications would eventually take her life. Judy lived a great life and she had no complaints. When asked if she was ready to go to Heaven, she responded with " I'll go when the Lord takes me". The Lord took her on October 23 at 11:53 at night.