Helen V Joersz

Helen V. Joersz, 95, Bismarck, died January 23, 2017. A memorial service will be held at 10:30 am Friday, January 27, at McCabe United Methodist Church, 1030 N 6th St., Bismarck, with Rev. Jenny Hallenbeck Orr officiating. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service at the church. Cremation has taken place. Graveside services will be held at 1:00 pm Friday at the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery, Mandan. Helen (Tracy) Joersz was born November 14, 1921, in Braddock, ND, the daughter of Selden Tracy and Flora (Macdonald) Tracy. She was raised and educated in Braddock and graduated from Braddock High School in 1939. After high school she spent time at Jamestown College before moving to Bismarck in 1941. It was while working at the Workman's Compensation Bureau that she met a number of lifelong friends and her future husband, William (Bud) Joersz. Helen and Bud were married on November 24, 1946, at the Methodist Church in Grand Forks, ND. Helen was a stay-at-home mom who raised four children and ran an efficient and loving household for many years. In the late sixties she went back to work as a secretary at Northridge Elementary School in Bismarck, where she continued to keep a watchful eye over thousands of young children. She worked for the school system for 18 years before retiring in 1987. Helen was a long time member of McCabe United Methodist Church and volunteered there until late December 2016. Always at home in the kitchen, she used her culinary skills (most notably her pot roast and chocolate cake) to bring family together. Her four grandchildren were the light of her life and she treasured the time she spent with them. Helen was a gentle and humble soul, grace personified. Her warmth, compassion and patient demeanor will be missed by all who knew her. She is survived by one sister, Joan Tracy; four children, Richard Joersz, Douglas Joersz and his wife Jill, Anne Larson and her husband Les, and Robert Joersz; four grandchildren, Matt Joersz, Sara Erickson and her husband John, Rachel Larson, and Caitlin Larson; and numerous beloved nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband, Bud; her parents; her brother, Scott Tracy; and two sisters, Roberta Tracy and Peg Hulteng. Memorials may be sent to McCabe United Methodist Church, 1030 N 6th St., Bismarck, ND, 58501.