Mass of the Christian Burial for Helen Fitch will be at 10:00 a.m., Monday, March 5, 2012 at St. Matthew's Catholic Church, Gillette, WY with Father Cliff Jacobson as celebrant. Interment will follow at Mt. Pisgah Cemetery. A gathering of family and friends will be at Walker Funeral Home, Gillette, WY, Sunday, March 4, 2012 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. with a vigil to follow at 7:30.
Helen Fitch age 86, longtime resident of Campbell County, passed away on February 27, 2012, at Campbell County Memorial Hospital of natural causes. Helen was born in St. Paul, Minnesota on September 14, 1925, the daughter of Raymond E. and Mary J. (Hamilton) Wild. After Mary's death, Helen had many years with step mother Agnes (Nelson) Wild.
After graduating from high school she attended the University of Minnesota earning a degree in education. She moved to Gillette in 1946 to teach at Campbell County High School. Helen met Bill Fitch later the same year and they married on June 12, 1947. They moved to the Fitch Ranch on Middle Prong where they raised three sons.
Helen taught school in Sheridan County and Campbell County for thirty three years, teaching English, Journalism, Typing, Shorthand, Bookkeeping, and Spanish. While head of the English Department she taught most of the students in Campbell County between the years of 1959 and 1986, at which time she retired.
Retirement from teaching was just the beginning. She and Bill traveled to many foreign countries including New Zealand, Europe, Russia, and South America. She worked relentlessly for the well-being of senior citizens. Helen was the ultimate doer with an attitude of resolution to any issue. It has been said there was never an organization she did not like. Helen became very involved in senior citizen organizations and projects, teaching seniors all over the United States how to file for benefits and deal with issues affecting them. She was instrumental in the building of the apartments beside the senior center. She was on local and state library boards and was named by President George W. Bush to the National Library Board. She was an active member of PEO and frequently read to children at the Campbell County Developmental Center and John Paul II School. Helen was truly a great and inspiring person.
Helen is survived by sons, Bill (Jane) Fitch Jr. of Gillette WY; Mark Fitch (Carol Heiden) of Boulder, CO; John (Galee) Fitch of Gillette, WY; seven grandchildren, and seven great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, her parents, and brothers Jim, Paul, and Mark Wild. A memorial has been established to the Campbell County Senior Citizens Center and John Paul II School. Memorials and condolences may be sent in care of Walker Funeral Home, 410 Medical Arts Court, Gillette, WY. Condolences may also be sent via the internet at www.walkerfuneralgillette.com
Read Helen Fitch's Obituary and Guestbook on www.gillettememorialchapel.com.
