July 21, 1939 – December 1, 2024
Funeral services for Helen Elizabeth Brinkman, 85, of Isabel will be held Saturday, December 14, 2024 at 11:00 a..m. MT at the Isabel Community Center. Visitation will be held at Kesling Funeral Home in Mobridge on December 13, 2024 from 5-7:00 p.m. CT with a time of sharing at 7:00 p.m. Interment will be at Hillview Cemetery, Isabel.
Helen passed away on December 1, 2024, in Pierre in the care of her granddaughter and daughter.
She was born on July 21, 1939, in Lewis, KS to Raymond and Irma (Foster) Cross. Her parents moved from Kansas and bought a small farm at Isabel in 1955. She met the love of her love of her life, Delfred Brinkman, in 1956 and they were married on October 4, 1957.
On September 25, 1971 they were blessed by a SD Adoption Agency with a 3-month-old daughter, who was her pride and joy.
Helen taught in various rural schools, and Buffalo and Isabel for a total of 42 years. She impacted a lot of students’ lives with her puppet shows, Halloweens, Christmas concerts and her knack for making the best popsicles in town.
She loved Christmas. Her grandchildren would make a gingerbread house every year with her. She would make sure that anyone in the community had a good holiday, from presents to food.
She would stop what she was doing to make sure the card players were fed in the shop.
Her love of gardening grew over the years and so did her gardens. She always made sure all her students would have a pumpkin to decorate at Halloween. Each year she would etch the grandchildren’s names on a pumpkin, so they all had their own pumpkins. Also, she would raise enough pumpkins for her grandchildren to sell.
Mowing and lawn service during the summer months was her specialty when she wasn’t gardening. It was nothing for her to be out anytime of the day pushing the lawn mower for someone or weed eating. She always involved her grandchildren in her lawn service to spend more time with them while they were growing up.
Her last wish was to have a yellow Camaro.
Helen is survived by her husband, Delfred Brinkman; daughter Cindy (Lee) Moseley; grandchildren: Ashley (Jake) Michalson, Kali (Jamie) Timm, Dayton (Katrina) Wiedmer, Hanna (John) Martin and Jaxon Wiedmer; her great-grandchildren: Axel, Kenleigh, Hudson, Chelsea, Laycee, Kyren, Brayden, Adalyn, Peter, Maverick, and Danielle; nieces: Tammy (John) Murray and Sandy (Brian) Lindstorm and nephew Kevin Cross.
She is preceded in death by her parents and brothers Clarence Cross and Howard (Leroy) Cross.
(Delfred Brinkman’s address is PO Box 16, Isabel, SD 57633.)