Dennis Funeral Homes

HELEN K. KNUTSON, age 94 of Waseca, died on Sunday, December 18, 2011 at Lake Shore Inn in Waseca.

Born in Dysart, Iowa on May 19, 1917, Helen was the daughter of Alfred and Emma (Gonnerman) Wetzstein.  Growing up, she attended rural Dysart schools.  Following her schooling, Helen was employed doing childcare and housekeeping for about six years.  She moved with her parents to Waseca in 1941 where they remained until 1973.  When Helen and her mother, both widowed, moved to Seattle to be near her brother’s family.  For 16 years she resided in the Crista Retirement Community.  In 2006, she returned to Waseca, where she has been living at Lake Shore Inn. 

From 1941 until marrying, she worked at Bird’s Eye Foods, Herters, and a dry-cleaning business in town.  In 1955 Helen was married to Carl A. Knutson and resided in Waseca in a home attached to the Knutson Plumbing Shop.  While married, she became the bookkeeper for the plumbing business for seventeen years until its sale in 1973. 

Helen was active in her churches throughout her life, the Evangelical Church in Dysart, Iowa, the Salem Evangelical United Brethren Church in Waseca (now Evangelical United Methodist Church) and the Maple Leaf Evangelical Church in Seattle, WA.  She loved to sew, creating hundreds of handcrafted wall hangings, stuffed toys, and varied quilts to benefit mission projects. 

Helen is survived by one niece, Diane Maier-Yates of Eleele, Hawaii; and two nephews, David Wetzstein of Waseca, and John Wicks of Lynnwood, WA; grand nieces and nephew; and great grand nieces and nephews.  She was preceded in death by her husband, Carl A. Knutson; her parents, Alfred and Emma Wetzstein; two brothers, LeRoy and Lester Wetzstein; and one niece, Barbara Wicks.

Private services will be held for the family.  A public visitation is not being planned.  Interment will take place at Woodville Cemetery in Waseca. 

In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to cardiovascular research or a church of the donor's choice.