Helen Elizabeth Bergfalk

Helen Elizabeth Bergfalk was born October 28, 1912 at 4 a.m. to John and Josephine Bergfalk in Rusheba Township, just north of Rush City, and grew up on the family farm. Helen was baptized as a member of the East Rock Creek Baptist Church. She graduated from Rush City High School in 1930, received her Teacher’s Training Diploma in 1935, graduated from the Bethel Institute in 1939, and received her B.A. from Sioux Falls College in 1947. Helen’s work as an educator began as a teacher in one room rural school houses (Hustletown, Rolf, and McKay schools) in East Central Minnesota, and continued halfway around the world as a missionary in India – first in Assam, briefly in Calcutta, and in Bangalore – from 1949 to 1977. Her original destination when commissioned June 25, 1948 was Shantung, China. The Revolution in China changed her plans, but not the call of the Great Commission to proclaim Christ to the nations. Helen was among the early missionaries sent out by the Baptist General Conference after it separated from the Northern Baptist Convention and established its own Board of Foreign Missions in 1944. Helen retired from the foreign mission field in 1977, but not from faithful Christian service. She was an active member of Rush City Baptist Church and found many ways to serve God and others. When advancing age slowed her steps, she continued a ministry of prayer for others to the end of her life. Her love of life and creation was shared with family and friends, and celebrated in a myriad of ways. It was expressed through her paintings and her passion for animals – from horses to the cats and dogs who were treasured companions in retirement as well as on the mission field. Helen died September 16, 2009 at Grace Point Crossing West in Cambridge, Minnesota, having reached the age of 96 years. She is survived by her nieces and nephews: Jerrold (Judy) Bergfalk of Edina, MN, the Reverend Lynn (Susan) Bergfalk of Washington D.C., Dale (Judy) Bergfalk of Rush City, MN, and the Reverend Joy (the Reverend Jimmy Reader) Bergfalk of Rochester, NY; and several great nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents John and Josephine (Eliason) Bergfalk, brothers and sisters Eugene (Frances) Bergfalk, Alice Bergfalk, Edith Bergfalk, Lawrence (Ethel) Bergfalk, the Reverend Albert Bergfalk, and Leonard (Ferne) Bergfalk; nephew: the Reverend Robert Bergfalk; and niece: Dr. Judith Bergfalk. Funeral services were celebrated at 2 p.m. Sunday, September 20, 2009 at the Rush City Baptist Church in Rush City with the Reverend Dave Melin, the Reverend Lynn Bergfalk, the Reverend Joy Bergfalk, Jerrold Bergfalk and Dale Bergfalk officiating. Music was provided by Judy Bergfalk, the Reverend Joy Bergfalk, Robert Dela Caza, and Daniel Bergfalk. Casket bearers included Elizabeth Sulungaine, Sarah Moritz, Haven Kennedy, Robert Dela Caza, Stephen Bergfalk, and Daniel Bergfalk. Interment was at the Free Mission Cemetery in rural Rush City.