Helen Rosena Fowser

Helen Rosena Fowser, age 97, of Hillsboro, formerly of Brownsmead, died Saturday, April 9, 2011, in Hillsboro. She was born Dec. 4, 1913, in Merrill, Iowa, to Paul Wilheim and Mary Wilheimena (Hengtgen) Herbst. In 1933, she graduated from high school in Storden, Minn., and was valedictorian of her class. In 1936, she graduated from nursing school at Fairview Hospital in Minneapolis. After graduating, both she and her twin sister moved to Chicago and worked as nurses until her twin sister married and moved away. In December 1940, she married Howard Fowser in Astoria. He preceded her in death in 1989. After moving to Brownsmead, Mrs. Fowser and her husband raised vegetables and operated a dairy farm. Later, they moved to Knappa and subsequently to Red Bluff, Calif., where they worked in the logging industry. The couple retired in the 1970s. She attended the Methodist, Lutheran and Presbyterian churches wherever she lived. Family members said she enjoyed gardening, quilting, sewing and clam digging. She is survived by two nieces, Patsy Corkill of Warrenton and Carolyn Marsh of Hillsboro; two nephews, Paul Kallstrom of Brownsmead and Robert Herbst of Sherwood; a stepson, Walter Fowser of Roseburg; a stepdaughter, Betty Jean Carter of Cottage Grove; a sister-in-law, June Mattson of Clatskanie; and a brother-in-law, Dan Fowser of Clatskanie. She was preceded in death by a niece, Clara Herbst. At Mrs. Fowser’s request, there will be no formal service. Inurnment will be at Ocean View Cemetery in Warrenton. Caldwell’s Luce-Layton Mortuary in Astoria is in charge of the arrangements. An online guest book can be signed at www.caldwellsmortuary.com