Helen Marie Brodigan Hedland

Helen Marie Hedland, 84, a retired housekeeping supervisor, of Henderson, passed away June 6, 2010. She was born Sept. 13, 1925, in Fargo, N.D., and was a 49-year resident of Nevada. Helen married John Hedland Feb. 19, 1948, and at the time of his death they had been married 43 years. She was an avid bowler and gardener until her health no longer allowed it. She also enjoyed reading and spending time with her family. Helen was preceded in death by her parents, Nicholas and Bernice Kinney Brodigan; husband, John Hedland; sisters, Alice Rasmussen and Mary Ellen Hanson; and brothers, James and Edward Brodigan. She is survived by her brother, Raymond Brodigan; sons, Tim and Steve; daughters, Diane and Claudia; eight grandchildren; and 18 great-grandchildren. Memorial services will be at 3 p.m. Friday, June 11, at Palm Mortuary, 800 S. Boulder Highway, Henderson. Donations can be made to Odyssey Hospice, 4011 McLeod Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89121.

Published in Las Vegas Review-Journal on June 10, 2010

When Helen Marie Hedland walked into the room, those in her company felt energy, an enthusiastic spontaneity. This was just one example of who Helen was and how she impacted those around her. Helen was a clever and gregarious person who always sought out the finest attributes in other people. It was as if Helen wanted to share all of their experiences, revel in their lives and celebrate their discoveries. Helen was tireless and had boundless enthusiasm that would serve her well throughout her life.

She was the daughter of Nicholas and Bernice Brodigan. Helen was raised in Fargo, North Dakota. Always at the ready with a good joke, she grew up to be quite a humorous person. While some who knew Helen might describe her as an idealist, her friends and family understood well that Helen was always in pursuit of life’s endless possibilities and opportunities available to her.

Helen was raised with five siblings. Jimmy, Eddy, Alice, Helen, Ray and Mary Ellen. Helen was very accepting and supportive of her family. She was perceived as the central person in her family in terms of keeping communication open between the family members. Whenever discord or tension arose within the home, Helen was typically the member who brought about resolution and harmony. These traits served Helen well in her adult life and, along with her wit, outgoing personality, and understanding of others, drew the admiration of many who knew her.

With a talent for making acquaintances easily which in turn brought her an endless stream of friends, Helen was very sociable and could blend without effort into any social group. Assertive and outgoing, Helen was easy to know and demonstrated a deep concern for others. She always seemed aware of what was going on with people around her and throughout her life she made many, many friends. While growing up, some of her best friends were Alice Nyland, Bob and Zoe, Gail, Bob and Fran, Mickie and Bob, Chuck and Linda. Her best friend being, Alice.

Helen's skill at “building bridges” played an important role in her ability to make her new family happy. Helen was tenderhearted and sensitive, qualities that served her well in helping to nurture her family.

Helen was a natural and creative parent who was willing to provide her family with all sorts of new and interesting experiences. For Helen, parenting was a particularly enjoyable and pleasurable part of her life. Every activity, from chores to bedtime routines, became a game in the Hedland home. Helen's skill at understanding her children's feelings, her sensitivity to their needs, and her gift for gentle persuasion enabled her to find novel solutions to any problem or situation that might crop up. Helen was blessed with four children: two sons, Tim and Steve, and two daughters, Claudia and Diane. They were also blessed with five grandchildren, Rusty, Randy, Debbie, Michael, David, Nickalaus, Amanda, and Troy.

Helen was uplifted by new ideas and was excited by life’s possibilities, traits that made her an exceptional worker. Her primary occupation was in hotel management. She was employed for 27 years by the Tropicana Hotel. Helen was enterprising, inventive and working against deadlines seemed to energize her. Helen had the uncanny ability to identify a win/win solution to just about any problem, possibly because of her gift for insight. Helen's fellow workers saw her as a supporter and a mentor.

Because Helen loved to have a broad variety of activities in her life, she took advantage of the opportunity to pursue numerous hobbies. Her favorite pursuits were gardening, camping and reading. Helen had a knack for being able to multi-task in order to create time for all of her favorite pastimes. However, Helen's ever-present concern for others always took precedent.

Helen derived much satisfaction from participating in and watching sports. Her charisma, supportive nature and ability to improvise when called upon to do so all made perfect attributes for enjoying a great many sporting activities. Recreational sports included bowling. Helen was also something of a sports fan and enjoyed watching her favorite events whenever she got the opportunity. Tops on her list were bowling, golf, football. She also enjoyed watching Meet the Press.

Throughout her life, Helen was actively involved in professional and community organizations. She was compassionate, accommodating and quick to move into action. Always able to build a consensus, Helen seemed to be the person smack dab in the middle of things, working to get things done. Those who had the opportunity to work with Helen usually agreed that when you were involved in an organization with her, it was as entertaining as anything you could imagine. Throughout her later years, Helen was an active member of the Eagles, American Legion and the Police Auxillary.

Helen's love of improvising in her daily life was a perfect fit for her enjoyment of traveling. Her favorite vacations were ones that were not planned. Traveling in a casual manor fit her personality well. Excited about seeing changing scenery and constantly looking for the enjoyment life could offer. Favorite vacations included camping in Montana, going to Florida to Mickies, and going down to the lake in Minnesota.

Helen was a lover of animals and cherished her pets. Candy, a poodle,, Blackie, a Dauchound, and Sam a Siamese cat.

When Helen's retirement finally came in 1987, Helen handled it the way she usually did. She adapted and, like everything in her life, made it satisfying. Because she was such a flexible person and able to adjust to any situation, retirement was just another enjoyable change of pace for Helen to master. Her new life involved relocating to Henderson, Nevada. In retirement, she found new pleasure in knowing it was always five o'clock somewhere and she traveled that "somewhere". Even in retirement, Helen continued to stay in touch with her old friends and like always, made plenty of new ones.

Helen Hedland passed away on June 6, 2010 at at her home in Henderson, Nevada. She is survived by one brother, Ray Brodigan, her four children and her loving grandchildren and great grandchildren. Services were held at Palm Mortuary in Henderson, Nevada. Helen was laid to rest in the Garden of Suncrest at Palm Mortuary on Boulder Highway in Henderson, Nevada.

There was always a certain style and inventiveness to Helen. She was a dynamic, self-expressive person who was forever looking to celebrate the endless possibilities life had to offer. She had a knack for being clever, creative and witty, and for others, was a joy to be around. While she was often fiercely independent, it seemed as if many others looked to Helen Hedland for inspiration, leadership, wisdom and even courage. Helen was always more than willing to share life’s experiences with her loved ones.