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Helen Louise Gunter, 80

| February 1, 2007 8:00 PM

Helen Louise Gunter, 80, passed away on Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2007, in Sagle, Idaho.

Visitation will be held from 3-5 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 4, 2007, at Coffelt's Funeral Chapel, 109 N. Division Ave. in Sandpoint, Idaho.

Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. on Monday, Feb., 5, 2007, in Coffelt's Funeral Chapel, 109 N. Division Ave., Sandpoint, Idaho. Burial will be held at Westmond Cemetery in Westmond, Idaho.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Bonner Community Hospice (P.O. Box 1448, Sandpoint, ID 83864) or to the Sagle Community of Christ (P.O. Box 478, Sagle, ID 83860).

Helen Louise (Armstrong) Gunter passed from this life on Jan. 30 at her home in Sagle, Idaho, where she and her husband, Elbert, have lived for 62 of their 65 years of marriage. She was surrounded by family members at the time of her passing.

Helen was born Sept. 12, 1926, in Spokane, Wash., the daughter of Sarah Jane (Skillings) and Francis Hutchison Armstrong. She attended Edison Elementary, Libby Junior High, and Lewis and Clark High School. For seven years, during elementary school, she used the last name of her stepfather — Logsdon.

On Jan. 31, 1942, Helen married Elbert Milton Gunter at the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Third and Smith) in Spokane. Elbert was called to service in the U.S. Army Air Corps in World War II during which time Helen worked as a clerk at Stone's Grocery Store in Sandpoint and as a long-distance operator for the telephone company in Spokane. In the 1970s and early 1980s, she also worked for Weight Watchers in Sandpoint.

When Elbert returned from the war in 1945, he and Helen built their home in Sagle and raised five children. She was a wonderful mother, grandmother and great-grandmother and enjoyed her family very much. She loved other people of the community and never met anyone with whom she did not cultivate conversation and friendship.

Helen was a longtime member of the Sagle Helping Hand Club and the Community of Christ (formerly Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints), in Sagle, where she taught Sunday School for many years. She was sustained by her faith and has been an inspiration to her family and others.

She was preceded in death by her mother, Sarah (Skillings) Logsdon; her father; her stepfather; two brothers, Elvin "Al" Edward and Raymond Earl Armstrong; two sisters, Clara May Overhauser and Florence Jane Copeland; one stepbrother and seven stepsisters; a stillborn infant daughter; and a son, Delbert Vernon Gunter.

Surviving family members include her husband, Elbert, two daughters, Janet (Jack) Filanoski of Post Falls and Joanne (Rick) Hill of Sagle; two sons, Wayne (Colleen) and Don (Crystal) Gunter of Sagle; 13 grandchildren; 12 great-grandchildren; a niece, Marlene Nelson of Trout Creek, Mont.; and a nephew, Leroy "Duke" (Penny) Armstrong of Sandpoint.

Family and friends are invited to sign Helen's online guest book at www.coffeltfuneral.com

Funeral arrangements are under the care of Coffelt Funeral Service.