Helen Elaine (Dybdal) Knutson, the youngest daughter of Lila (Larson) and Melvin Dybdal was born on August 1, 1936 in Stony Brook Township in Grant County, Minnesota.

Helen attended a one room Country School (Dist.# 30) on the corner of her family farm from Kindergarten to 3rd Grade, then 4th to 5th Grade at Wendell Elementary, then 6th to 12th Grade at Elbow Lake where she participated as a cheerleader and a saxophonist in the Elbow Lake Highschool Marching Band before graduating in 1954. After high school Helen attended the Minnesota School of Business in Minneapolis. On September 1,1956, she married her true love and life partner Loren Marvin Knutson. She and Loren lived in Elbow Lake when they were first married before moving to the Twin Cities. Helen and Loren raised their sons Keith, Paul and Eric on a hobby farm outside of Mahtomedi. Along with being an amazing homemaker Helen also worked as a Title One Teacher and a Ramsey County Clerk in the Suburban Taxation Department. In retirement she and Loren spent half the year at their home in Elbow Lake and enjoyed snow birding during the winters in Texas with dear friends.

She was a congregation member of St. Andrews Lutheran Church in Mahtomedi and later in life the United Lutheran Church in Elbow Lake. Besides snow birding she also enjoyed traveling with her high school friends and card club friends. 

Helen was a loving and loyal daughter, wife, sister, mother, grandmother, aunt, great grandmother and friend. She was a woman who loved to sing, laugh and bake delicious treats. She was extremely proud of her family and was known to be the life of the party.

On January 1, 2026 Helen died peacefully at Aurora Memory Care surrounded by her family, at the age of eighty nine years.

Helen was preceded in death by her husband, parents, parents-in-law, siblings, siblings-in-law  and son Keith.

She is survived by her siblings-in-law: Gordon La Valley, Roger and Dorothy Knutson and Bonnie Larson; children Paul (Reggie Adams) and Eric (Lisa Weaver); grandchildren Amanda (Jake Quinn), Alisha, Abagale Alexander (Derek), Eli and Alex; great grandchildren: Myles, Zion, Ethan and Violet; and many cousins, nieces and nephews.

Services will be held at St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church, 900 Stillwater Rd, Mahtomedi, MN, on Thursday, January 15th, 2026. Visitation at 10:30; Memorial Service at 11:30 with Luncheon to follow.