Helen Michaelsen Hatch

Our beloved mother, grandmother and great grandmother Helen Michaelsen Hatch passed away on April 10, 2018 in Hyrum Utah after a short illness. She was born on October 22, 1921 in Gunnison Utah to Claudius David Michaelsen and Mabel Lena Larsen, the youngest of five children. Her father Claude was a successful sheep rancher and provided a good living to the family, even during the years of the Great Depression. Education and music were encouraged in the family, and each of the children played a musical instrument. Helen chose to play the French horn.
Claude had a summer sheep range in the mountains of southern Idaho near Mink Creek. As a child, Helen spent part of each summer in the beautiful mountains there. She carried on this tradition in her own family with yearly visits to the sheep herd to ride horses and pick huckleberries. The pies made from these huckleberries were a rare and heavenly treat.
The family moved from Gunnison to Logan, Utah in 1936 to be closer to the summer range. Helen graduated from Logan High School and attended Utah State University (then Utah State Agricultural College). She graduated from USU in 1943 with a degree in elementary education and a minor in music. Later, she returned to USU to earn a Masters of Education degree in special education in 1965.
Throughout her high school and college years, Helen continued to study the French horn and received recognition for her playing. As a junior in college she joined the Utah Symphony Orchestra and played there until 1944 when she married. Later in life she described how exciting it was to play under the baton of the famous British conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Albert Coates when they were guest conductors of the Symphony. She always loved music and shared this passion with her family.
After graduation, Helen began her career as a teacher in the Granite School District in Salt Lake City during the 1943-1944 school year.
At an LDS Institute dance at USU Helen first met Terrance Edwin Hatch. She married Terrance in Chicago, Illinois on August 26, 1944 while Terrance was serving in the Navy. The marriage was later solemnized in the Salt Lake LDS Temple on March 20, 1946.
After his discharge from the Navy in 1946, Terrance advanced his career as a teacher, principal, and doctoral student – the family living in American Falls, Idaho; Logan, Utah; Roosevelt, Utah; Kanab, Utah; and Los Angeles, California. With their three children, the young family moved permanently to Logan in 1954 when Terrance accepted a position as professor of education administration at USU.
Helen returned to teaching after all her children were in school. She taught intellectually handicapped students for three years in the Whittier School. For the remainder of her career she taught reading at various elementary schools in the Logan School District. She followed the careers of many of her former students and was please by how well they did. After her retirement, she continued to teach reading skills on a volunteer basis.
When Helen and Terrance were close to retirement, they bought land on the Little Bear River between Hyrum and Wellsville Utah. As members of various LDS wards in Wellsville, they formed new and rich relationships with the people there. In retirement, they travelled the world, worked the farm and a large garden, and kept active biking and skiing. Helen especially loved to ski and did so until she was 89. Their real retirement came when they moved to the Pioneer Valley Lodge in North Logan, Utah in 2009.
As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Helen served quietly and faithfully in a variety of callings. She was an inspiration to all of us when, in her seventies, she served energetically for five years as the Relief Society President of the Wellsville 3rd Ward.
To her family she is remembered for her wonderful home-cooked meals, her productive garden, as a companion on a hike, camping trip, ski trip, or bike ride; and especially for the stories and books she read to them.
Helen was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Terrance, and her four siblings Iris Nuttall, Leon Claude Michaelsen, Leona Pritchett, and Pauline Peterson. She is survived by her three children Michael Terrance Hatch (Carol), Susan Kay Hammond (Ken), and Robert Lee Hatch (Kristine). She is also survived by 11 grandchildren, and 18 great grandchildren.
Funeral arrangements are under the care of Allen-Hall Mortuary. A funeral service for Helen will be held Saturday, April 21, 2018 at 11:00 AM at the Wellsville Stake Center at 30 South Center in Wellsville Utah. A viewing will precede the service from 9:30 to 10:30 AM. Interment will be in the Hyrum City Cemetery.
The family would like to thank the staff at Blacksmith Fork Assisted Living for the compassionate care given to Helen.