Doris Adeline Helgren, 89, of Norwalk died Thursday, May 16, 2013, at the Serenity House in Tomah, with her family at her side.
She was born to Arnt and Signe (Hemstead) Hagen on Aug. 7, 1923, in the town of Whitestown, Vernon County. She grew up on a farm located in Indian Creek, among a farming community of many Norwegian relatives.
She was united in marriage on May 17, 1947, to Russell Helgren in Milwaukee. They began farming on her parents’ farm in the Rockton area in 1950, and nine years later they purchased a farm in Ridgeville, where they farmed together until this year.
Doris attended the Rockton grade school, graduated as valedictorian from La Farge High School in 1941, attended vocational school, and then worked as an executive assistant at a Milwaukee bank through most of the 1940s.
Her priority in life was being a mother to both her children and grandchildren. Nothing put a bigger smile on her face than a grandchild crawling onto her lap. She was dedicated to the family dairy farm, working into her 70s, feeding calves and tending the chickens until recently.
She will be remembered as an excellent cook noted for her apple, raspberry and blackberry pies. She was a strong, kind, selfless woman who in her spare time enjoyed reading, gardening, visiting 
relatives, shopping for treasures at antique shops and going for rides on the winding roads of the Kickapoo River Valley area, where she grew up. She also kept a close watch on the apple orchard, informing her family which apples were ready to pick.
She is survived by a daughter, Linda (Thomas) Sheridan of Dixon, Mont.; five sons, Robert of Madison, Michael (Ellen) of Beaver Dam, Wis., Richard and William of Norwalk and Don of Wilton; nine grandchildren, Jason, Quentin, David, Levi, Sophie, Holly, Heidi, Trinity and Ryan; three great-grandchildren, Austin, Isabella and Nevaeh; a sister, Norma Onsager of Valders, Wis.; a sister-in-law, Inez Hagen of La Farge; many nieces and nephews; and other relatives and friends.
She was preceded in death by her parents; an infant son; a brother, Arnold; four sisters, Marion, Lenore, Thelma and Alverda; a 
granddaughter, Hannah; and her husband, Russell, who died earlier this year.
A memorial service will be at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 3, at Sandhill Bethany Church, 1598 B Sand Hill Road, La Farge, WI 54639. A lunch and visitation will be after the service. Pastor Kathleen Wohlers will officiate.
Memorials in memory of Doris may be given to Sandhill Bethany Church or Serenity House.
The Smith-Nelson Funeral Home in Wilton is assisting the family with arrangements. Online condolences may be given at www.sonnenburgfamilyfh.com.
