Helen Marie Running, 89, passed away on November 13, 2020. She was born in Lake Stevens on April 12, 1931 and was the youngest child of Hazel and Fred Stilley. Helen lived near Snohomish until she was six and then moved to Granite Falls, where she spent the rest of her life. She graduated from Granite Falls High School in 1949 and married her high school sweetheart Ed Running in 1950. They settled in Granite Falls and raised six children. She worked 29 years at Konnerup’s Grocery and 10 years at the Red Apple and retired at age 78.
Helen was known for her kindness, humor, and generosity and for baking delicious buns, sticky buns, and pies in ridiculous quantities because “everyone needs to have some to take home”. Her personal record was baking 30 pies to feed 20 people at Thanksgiving. She helped the local fire department making pies for their bake sales for more than 30 years and cleaning clothes and toys and making doll clothes for the last 10 years to get them ready for the annual Christmas House. Every December, her house was filled with boxes full of gifts for people she had never met. Some kid will just love this”, she would say holding up a doll. She liked to gamble and was incredibly lucky. “Oh, did I win?” said with a grin, was her typical response to winning.
Helen was preceded in death by her husband (Ed Running), her brother Jerry Stilley, and sisters Betty Swaney, and Jeane Espeseth. She is survived by her children Jeri McNair, Duane Running, Joy Running, Joni (Frank) Urbanski, Kim (Scott) Macomber, and Dave (Brooke) Running, as well as six grandchildren and one great-grandchild. Helen was a treasure, and she will be missed by all who knew her. No services will be held at this time. A celebration of life will be held later at a date to be determined. Condolences and remembrances may be left on the Schaefer-Shipman Funeral Home website.
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