Helga Marion Hansen Young Petkovich died peacefully in the company of family in Corvallis, Oregon, on Dec. 23, 2024, two months shy of her 104th birthday.
Helga was born on Feb. 17, 1921, the youngest of four children, to Carl and Else Hansen in Petaluma, California. Her parents were turn-of-the-century immigrants from Denmark who met in the Petaluma Danish Lodge. They owned a small egg farm on Roblar Road near many relatives and other recently immigrated Danes.
After graduating from Petaluma High School, she moved to San Francisco to work at a telephone company. While in “the city,” Helga met Bill Young, who was residing in the same boarding house. They courted and were married in 1943, as Bill’s army unit was preparing to ship out to Europe during World War II.
After Bill returned from the war, they moved to his tiny mountain hometown of Taylorsville (population 200) in the Sierra Nevada. Her early attempts to fit in with the mountain lifestyle included joining Bill to hunt deer while pregnant with her first child. Waiting on a deer stand in the morning, she saw a bear slowly approaching from the brush. She responded by standing up and shouting, “Go away, bear!” That ended her deer hunting.
Helga raised three children in Taylorsville: Carl (1947), Gary (1949) and Julie (1954). Capable, optimistic, and friendly, she became an integral member of the group of mostly women, who sustained the families and the culture of the town. She joined her neighbors in quilting, regular bridge games, and helping organize numerous community events and celebrations. The deep friendships she developed with the area’s women lasted through their lifetimes.
After 41 years of marriage, Helga and Bill divorced. Looking for a new start in an area with milder winters and closer golf courses, she moved to Hidden Valley Lake, California, near her brother Carl and his wife, Ida. During her years in Hidden Valley Lake, she once again made many lifelong friends through her passion for golf, bridge, and community gatherings.
Helga looked for a way to add to her income and was offered a job by a neighbor shipping packages to customers around the country. Remarkably, the relationship between Helga and Chuck Petkovich bloomed over shared hours of work and golf. She was 80 years old in 2001 when they married. They spent six happy years together traveling, golfing, building a new home, and hosting many family occasions before Chuck passed away in 2007.
In 2015, Helga moved to Philomath, Oregon, to live with her daughter Julie, and her husband Mark. She fit nicely into their household but was responsible for the temperature of the house rising by 10-15 degrees. She remained engaged in creating community gifts, many quilts for family and friends, and knitting chemo caps and Knitted Knockers for cancer patients. She remained in good health and in full command of her faculties for more than 103 years, only declining steeply in the last three months of her life.
Helga always seemed as surprised as anyone by her longevity, but she adapted to the changes in a typically matter-of-fact fashion: Giving up driving (without prodding) at 93; quitting golf at 94 (after recording 4 holes-in-one); and preparing for a move from Julie’s to an independent living facility when “it was time.”
Helga is survived by three children: Carl Young (Anne) of Mount Vernon, Washington; Gary Young (Leslie) of Elk, Washington; and Julie Phillips (Mark) of Philomath, Oregon; three grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
We were so fortunate to have her love and strength in our lives. We also want to express our deep gratitude to the staff and volunteers at Stoneybrook Senior Living and Lumina Hospice for their compassionate, wise and emotionally supportive care for Mom.
In lieu of flowers, please support Lumina Hospice and Palliative Care of Corvallis, or give to your local food bank or other charity.
