Helen Ruth Langeness Walters, age 82, of Monticello, Minn., passed away on Nov. 19, 2013 at CentraCare Health. Helen was born on Jan. 6, 1931 at home on the family farm in Cherry Grove Township, near Kenyon, Minn., to Richard and Gina Quam Langeness. She attended country school for eight years, and then school in Kenyon for grades 9 – 12, graduating in 1948. She then attended St. Olaf College, receiving a B.A. in business education in 1952. On June 12, 1954 she was united in marriage to Gene Walters at Dale Lutheran Church in Kenyon, Minn. From 1952 to 1956, she was a teacher in Sandstone, Minn., where she met Gene, also a teacher there. The couple moved to Monticello in 1956, where they started a cabinet shop and their family. Helen worked as an elementary and middle school secretary from 1973 to 1994. Helen enjoyed playing bridge, cooking, and baking. She was very family-oriented, and loved spending time with family and friends. She was a member of the Monticello American Legion Auxiliary, and a longtime member of Trinity Lutheran Church, where she was active in various church groups.

Helen was preceded in death by her husband, Gene; son Steven; grandson Andrew; her parents; and all her siblings. She is survived by her three sons, Dennis, Bruce, and Charles; and six grandchildren, Miranda Walters, Zachary Walters, Isaac Walters, Abigail Walters, Ryan Walters, and Benjamin Heigl.