Alice F. Kobilansky

Alice Kobilansky, 92 years old, died peacefully at her home in Bismarck, North Dakota on February 26th, 2024. 

A rosary/vigil service will be at 6:30 PM, Thursday, April 25, 2024 at the Edgewood Chapel, 3124 Colorado Lane, Bismarck. Family will greet visitors beginning at 6:00 PM. 

Mass of Christian Burial will be 11:00 AM, Friday, April 26, 2024 at St Anne Church, 1321 Braman Ave, Bismarck. A livestream of the service will be found below. 

Burial will be held at 2:00 PM Friday at the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery, Mandan, ND. 

The daughter of immigrants, Alice was born on a farm outside Glen Ullin, ND on March 16th, 1931. She was the youngest daughter of John and Katherine (Meuchel) Helfrich and had 7 brothers and 3 sisters (2 of whom died as infants).

Alice’s early years were spent doing the things she loved most…spending time cooking with her Mother, singing, reading and being tormented by her brothers. After high school, she attended Dickinson State College, studying to be a teacher. She taught in rural schools (one-room school houses) before she married Mike Kobilansky in 1952. After raising a family of five, she began working in the Glen Ullin Public Schools as a paraprofessional, where she retired after 20+ years in 1995.

Alice loved to cook and host family and friends. It was always amazing to see her conjure up something delicious for 10 or more people who just drove down the gravel road without notice! Nothing gave her more pleasure than being with those she loved. And because of this, she was very well-loved.

Alice loved to sing. She had a beautiful soprano voice and shared her talent with the choir of Sacred Heart Catholic Church for many years. There was never a family gathering that did not include a sing-a-long. She shared this love of music with her children and grandchildren.

Her generosity of spirit and kindness was evident not only with family and friends, but with the many other lives she touched. She was a big advocate for her “kids” at school. She was as proud of them as she was her own children. She was a lifetime member and past-president of the Sacred Heart Christian Mothers and a member of the Glen Ullin Public Library Committee. 

After Mike died in 2011, Alice left Glen Ullin and moved into an independent living community in Bismarck where she spent the last 12 years of her life. It was at Edgewood, Alice expanded her friendships and her interests. She became active in many of the community enrichment events. She loved having access to hear live music on a weekly basis, she had her weekly games of pinochle and was very active in the Catholic community within Edgewood. She learned to play handbells and joined the Edgewood Ding A Lings, a handbell choir who toured the senior community circuit.  She even started to paint. She also sat on the community advisory committee to help bring change where community members saw a need, and frankly, to bust the executive teams’ chops if there was a problem!

Alice touched the lives of many and there has been no shortage of family, friends and Edgewood staff who have stopped in to say good-bye and give her one last “I love you”. 

Alice was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Mike, her parents, John and Katherine and ten siblings. She is survived by her children, Bonnie (Phil Becker), Allan (Faye), Terry, Joyce (David Ray), and Kelly; her grandchildren Emily Becker-Seeley (DJ) and Allison Becker; and the newest addition and apple of her eye, her great-granddaughter Evelyn Joy Seeley; not to mention a passel of nieces and nephews.