Helen Johanna Leaf

Helen Johanna ("Helen Jo") Leaf, 92, of Minnetonka, Minnesota, died November 11, 2024. She was born in Breckenridge, Minnesota August 22, 1932, to Adolph (A.N.) and Audrey Larson, growing up in the tiny western Minnesota town of Tenney, where her father owned the general mercantile. She left Tenney to move to the Twin Cities, with a goal of attending college to pursue a career in Home Economics. She began her studies at the University of Minnesota but met Earl Leaf along the way, and plans changed. They were married on October 3, 1953, in Glenwood, Minnesota. Earl's career brought Helen Jo and Earl to various Minnesota towns, finally landing in the Twin Cities area after stops in St. Peter, Mankato, and Glenwood. They lived most of their retirement years in New London and Willmar, Minnesota. Helen Jo was creative and artistic. She worked at a fabric store for several years, as well as other part-time jobs while raising their children. She was a talented seamstress, operating her own sewing alterations business out of her home for several years. She made and gifted beautiful quilts throughout the years; her hand-stitching was impeccable. She loved traveling with the family on their many camping trips to Minnesota state parks, Lake Superior's North Shore, and the East Coast. She and Earl traveled across the United States in their retirement, and traveled later with their adult children to places such as Costa Rica, Hawaii, and Alaska. Helen Jo's utmost pride and joy were her husband, children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. Surviving are her children, Jonathan (Cindy Monturiol) Leaf, Heidi (David) Haagenson, and Jane (Steve) Richer. She was "Grandma Jo" to grandchildren Nick (Rebeca Gonzalez) Leaf; Katie (Tyler) Farr; Nate Leaf; Sara (Aaron) Karch; Sam (Courtney Schwartz) Haagenson; Jill (Curtis Myers) Richer; and Megan (Matt) Vangerud; and great grandchildren Raea Karch, Will Karch, and Clark Vangerud. She was preceded in death by her parents, husband Earl, and two half-brothers, Ralph and Andrew Larson. All are welcome to a memorial gathering at the Washburn-McReavy Funeral Chapel at 1400 Main Street, Hopkins, Minnesota, on Saturday, November 16 from 1:00 to 3:30. No formal service will be held. Private burial will be at Lebanon Cemetery in New London, Minnesota. Memorials are preferred to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, www.stjude.org

Tributes

Helen Johanna Leaf

August 22, 1932 - November 11, 2024

Tributes

Helen Johanna Leaf

August 22, 1932 - November 11, 2024

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