Helen Marie Gibson

Helen Marie (Tesar) Gibson, 90, of Loveland, CO passed away peacefully on January 22, 2017, in Loveland. Mrs. Gibson was twice widowed: her first husband, John J. Tesar and second husband, James Gibson, Jr. Also preceded in death by her parents, her brother, two sisters and her son, Michael J. Tesar. She is survived by son, John (Bonnie) Tesar of Loveland, daughter, Jan Tesar (Paul) Tanner of Elizabeth, CO, stepchildren Roger (Jayne) Gibson, Don Gibson, Richard (Beulah) Gibson, Elaine (Bud) Story, ten grandchildren, several great grandchildren, and her feline companion, Jimmy.

Funeral service 1:00 PM at Buckhorn Presbyterian Church, Masonville, CO. Interment at Resthaven Gardens, 8426 S. Highway 287, Ft. Collins, immediately following reception.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests a donation to an animal shelter of your choice; send to Restaven Funeral Home.

Helen M. (Tesar) Gibson

1926-2017

Helen Marie Pilkington was born on May 26, 1926 in Franklin, Nebraska, and passed away on January 22, 2017, in Loveland, Colorado. Helen was the fourth child to be born to John Frank Pilkington and Genevieve Gladys Wood Pilkington. Two sisters, Frances and Marjorie, and a brother, Jesse, welcomed baby Helen.

On Sunday evening, January 22, 2017, Helen quietly passed in her sleep to be with her Lord and Savior.

The Pilkington family had a strong motivation to survive economically; Helen’s dad, Frank as he was called, moved the family a few times from one small Nebraska town to another whenever there was an opportunity to make a better living. Frank had been a farmer in Iowa, but as a boy, on Saturday nights, when farmers went to town to trade their eggs and cream, Frank began watching how barbers cut hair. After their marriage in 1916, Frank and Genevieve lived near Wallace, Nebraska. Unable to sustain a satisfactory living as a farmer, due to drought and crop failure, Frank began to help out at the local barbershop on Saturday nights and learned how to be a barber. Frank was able to get a job working as a full time barber in Wilsonville, Nebraska, a town about 130 southeast of North Platte, near the Kansas border.

Seeking a better employment opportunity, Frank accepted a job offer in a multi-chair barber shop in Franklin, Nebraska, a town larger than Wilsonville and 65 miles east. He and Genevieve moved the family in 1925. The family’s new house was surrounded by mulberry bushes, so Genevieve was able to augment the family’s food supply by canning, making pies, jam and even ice cream.

While in Franklin, the Pilkington’s fourth child was born. Frank’s mother, Grandma Pilkington, was visiting from Iowa in anticipation of the new baby. Early that morning, she made breakfast for Frances and Marjorie and told them to get ready for school. Genevieve told Frances to stop by the barber shop and tell Frank to get the doctor, then go to school. She and Marjorie were the first children at school that day. When they went home for lunch, they had a new baby sister! Baby Helen was in a fancy basket with all kinds of blankets, pretty dresses and gifts. The girls could not understand how all of this happened in one morning! Genevieve had not told the girls that they were about to have a new baby. The baby, Helen, was named after Genevieve’s good friend, Helen Squires.

This may not come as a total surprise, but Helen was a fussy baby and no one could take care of her except Genevieve, her mother! Now we learn the truth about the origins of Helen’s lifelong cantankerous behavior!

Eventually, the family moved back to Wallace. Helen attended school, grades one through twelve, and graduated from Wallace High School in 1943.

In the fall of 1943, Helen went to Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln, Nebraska. Instead of returning to college in the fall of 1944, Helen took a teaching position in a rural school north of Wallace. Because of the World War, there was a shortage of teachers. A test was required for temporary certificates. Helen had not taken classes in education, so she completed the exam and was able to teach. Helen stayed with the families of her students during the week, and even had to sleep in the same bed as one of her students when she stayed at that house!

During the time that Helen was teaching, she would go back to Wallace on the week-ends. During the school year, Helen became reacquainted with John J. Tesar, a handsome, charming and hardworking young man whose family had immigrated from Czechoslovakia early in the century. John had graduated from Wallace High School one year earlier than Helen, in 1942. As their relationship and fondness for one another grew, John began picking Helen up from her teaching job on Friday evenings, took her to her parents’ house in Wallace, and drove her back to her job on Sundays. Helen’s parents, devout Methodists, were not enthusiastic about the idea of their youngest daughter marrying a Catholic. The young couple was in love and determined, so John’s father, Joseph, loaned the lovebirds his car, and they eloped and were married in Oberlin, Kansas. Kansas law allowed a man to be married without parental permission if he had attained the age of twenty. Helen was nineteen. John and Helen were married on May 26, 1945.

John and Helen’s first child, John Lee, was born in September of 1946, Janet was born in August of 1950, and Michael was born in October of 1954. All three children were born at St. Mary Hospital in North Platte, Nebraska.

The Tesar family moved from Nebraska to a farm east of Loveland, CO on State Highway 402 in the fall of 1956. Eventually, the Tesars bought a lot west of Loveland on County Rd 27, and John built the home the young family had dreamed of. The family moved into the house in November of 1962.

During all of their marriage, both Helen and John held jobs and worked together to support their family. John had farmed, then worked building houses. Helen worked for a real estate company in Loveland for many years. In June of 1965, Helen’s husband, John, was killed in a highway accident north of Cheyenne, WY while working to earn a living for his family.

Having the work ethic Helen had had all of her life, she managed to singlehandedly provide for her family. There was never much money to work with, but Helen was a savvy money manager and could always find a way to rub two nickels together and come up with a dollar! Helen modeled sound money management which was not lost on her three children.

After his 1965 high school graduation, John Lee went to Denver Automotive Institute in Denver until May of 1966 when he enlisted in the Navy. Jan attended the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley and graduated in May of 1972. Michael attended Western State College and graduated in 1976.

In June of 1970, Helen married Jim Gibson of Platteville, CO. Jim was a widower who had lost his wife to heart disease and was the father of four adult children. Helen and Jim had been introduced to one another by mutual friends. Jim sold his cattle, kept his horses and moved to Helen’s house west of Loveland. Jim retired from the Great Western Sugar Company in 1977.

For a few years after Jim’s retirement, Helen and Jim traveled in their motorhome and enjoyed their hobbies. Helen learned about football and learned to enjoy watching the Denver Broncos; she was enamored with “The Three Amigos”! Helen and Jim both took delight in the Colorado Rockies.

In 1989, Helen and Jim became members of the Buckhorn Presbyterian Church in Masonville, CO. They were quite involved in church activities; Helen sang in the choir and served as the church treasurer for several years. Jim helped with the coffee and always had a funny story to tell. That man never met a stranger!

Michael was involved in a severe rollover accident in January of 2006. He was so badly injured that he couldn’t ever fully recover. The pain Mike suffered finally ended when he passed away on June 23, 2014. His body and his heart had just worn out.

Helen’s personal strength and her faith in God helped her through this extremely painful time. Mike had been her soul mate.

Jim passed away on June 30, 2011. He was 92.

Helen moved to the house on Cameo Avenue in February of 2012. She enjoyed having neighbors close by and became well acquainted with wonderful people who helped her out by shoveling snow and just being neighbors.

Helen became a resident of Brookdale Senior Living in August of 2016. Jimmy, her beloved cat moved there with her.