Helen(a) Irene Soma (Gyopyos) 97, Hisega, formerly of Wall, SD and Bismarck, ND, died April 19th at home. She and her husband of nearly 72years are finally together once more after 4 yrs of being apart.   Graveside services and burial will be at Black Hills National Cemetery, Sturgis, SD with military honors.

Visitation for family and friends will be two hours prior to service at Osheim Schmidt Funeral Home. To view a detailed obituary and sign her online guest register, please visit www.osheimschmidt.com . In lieu of flowers, please donate to your favorite charity in Helen's name.

Helen was born, at home, in the coal mining town of Logan, West Virginia on March 14, 1922, to Anna (Kulyan) and Michael Gyopyos. She was so tiny her first cradle was a shoebox in a bureau drawer and they didn't even know if she would survive. Helen's determination and feistiness carried her thru those first few weeks and even into adulthood. The family moved from coal town to coal town before settling on a small farm near Bath, NY. Helen and her 7 siblings learned the meaning of hard work while growing up in upstate NY. Her father was cantor at the local Russian Orthodox church and she fondly remembered going to church and listening to him. She graduated in 1940 from Haverling High School (Steuban County) Bath, NY. After graduation Helen went to business school and then worked for Johnson and Johnson until enlisting in the service.

On March 15, 1942, the day after she turned 21, Helen enlisted joining the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps which later became the regular Army Air Force. She was assigned to the brandnew airfield and staging area for the B-17's at Kearney Army Air Base in Nebraska as a company clerk, eventually reaching the rank of Sgt.   Helen recalled meeting celebrities such as Clark Gable and Jimmy Stewart and her good friend Rose later married Milton Berle. Her most memorable moment was meeting Col. Paul Tibbets, the pilot of the Enola Gay, which was sent to her base on its way to Wendover Air Base before going to Japan to drop the first atomic bomb.

One Sunday, in 1942, during a dinner for service personnel, Helen met the love of her life, Ole Soma, who was in the Navy assigned to the USS Brooklyn. He called it destiny that a farm boy from South Dakota met an East coast gal who would later become his wife. Over the course of the war, they corresponded back and forth( she kept every letter to this day) and maybe spent 30 days actually together. Riding the train to Rapid City, she wondered what she was getting herself into. Nothing but miles and miles of prairie and more cows than people. Ole and Helen were married in a South Dakota blizzard January 27, 1946 in the town of Newell. Helen often joked about spending their wedding night snowed in, at a country school, when their car became stuck in a snow bank while heading to Spearfish on their honeymoon.   To this union two children were born...David and Crystal.

They resided in Wall, SD where Helen worked at the Wall Drug Store as their jewelry buyer. In 1957, Helen and Ole purchased their beautiful piece of the Black Hills and built a cabin at Hisega. It became their summer sanctuary filled with family memories and shared with friends, especially their 4 ^th of July get togethers and the making of homemade ice cream. They moved to Bismarck in 1964 when Ole became manager of Capital Electric Cooperative. While in Bismarck she became involved at McCabe United Methodist church, becoming wedding chairman, serving on several women's circles and assisting with the UMYF. Her love of politics led her to working on several presidential and state campaigns and eventually led to a 20+ year career as a committee clerk for the ND Legislature. Helen was most proud of working for Brynhild Haugland, one of the first female legislators as well as the longest serving in the ND House of Representative for her last few years. Being active in the community kept her busy with Current Events Club, League of Women Voters, ND and Burleigh county Republican party, AmVets, American Legion as well as being by Ole's side in all his endeavors.

Helen enjoyed collecting china especially Haviland and this blossomed into an antique business which she shared with Ole. After his retirement they traveled the country doing antique shows, appraisals and even had several booths in local antique malls. Her and Ole's home was filled with the antiques they had collected over the years and the beautiful furniture Ole loved to refinish. Both enjoyed going "south" for the winters, spending time in Texas, Arizona, Nevada and California. She was also a wonderful baker and cook bringing her Greek and Russian heritage into the dishes such as Kolach, Chicken Paprikas, and Halupsi.   One of the great highlights of their time together was being included in the first ND Roughrider Honor Flight to Washington DC, in May 2009, honoring WWII veterans, and being inducted as a charter member to the Women's Veterans Memorial.

She is survived by her son, David (Christa); her daughter Crystal (Mike); two grandchildren, Jennifer (Jeremy) Meissner, Parker, CO, Travis (Danielle) Smith, Bismarck;  6 great-grandchildren, Hunter, Madelyn, Xander, Brandon, Alec and Harper;

Her sisters, Martha Schmidt, Austin Tx, Julia Petronis, Los Angeles, CA and Sophia Dunham, Phoenix Az, Nephews Greg Kieschnick (Laura) Houston, Tx, Danius Petronis (Mida) Chicago, IL, Nieces Beth (Sam) Patterson, Daina (Virgil) Kaputis, Pasadena, CA, Suzanne Platko Judson, Elmira NY, Terry Ann Nelson, Las Vegas NV, Lori Platko, CA,  Julianna Frakes, Placerville, CA, Janel Dunham, Phoenix AZ and numerous great nephews and nieces.

Helen was preceded in death by her husband, Ole S. Soma, her parents, Anna and Michael Gyopyos, her brothers, Nicholas, Michael, and Theodore and sisters Ann Rebrick and Marie Platko.