Helen Alice Mcadam

Helen Alice McAdam, 83, of Casper passed away on March 31, 2014 at Life Care Center of Caper. She was born May 8, 1930 to Elsie and Sheldon Coon in Lewistown, Montana. She married Frank "Scotty" McAdam, June 5, 1947, in Roundup, Montana. Helen is mother to four children, Rae McAdam of Delta, CO Calvin (Pauline) McAdam of Powell, Wy, Dale Delph of Cody, Wy and Jeri (Gayle) Brabetz of Casper. She is also survived by her twin sister, Hazel Bayers of Billings, Mt; grandchildren, Michael McAdam, Jamie Demmitt, Jason Shellabarger, Heather Lawrence, and Heidi Dicks; great grandchildren, Kayla Albertson, Carson and Dayton Lawrence, Cambree and Dylan Dicks, and Haylie Shellabarger; nieces and nephews, George, Sheila, "Punky" Jean, Jacque and John as well as numerous others that were so special to her. She was preceded in death by her parents, three brothers and one sister.

These are the basic facts of Helen's life. She was born, married, had children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and she left this world in peace.

Helen was born to a ranch family, next to the youngest of six children, but only because her twin sister, Hazel, came last by a few minutes. Her childhood was spent at the family ranch, which her father homesteaded. When it came time for high school, she moved to Winnett, Montana to the dormitory to attend school. On a cold winter day, she and a girlfriend were walking along the creek when she fell through the ice up to her knees. As she was freezing in her wet jeans and shoes, along came Scotty, who stopped to give them a ride. The following year they were married in Roundup, Montana. They lived briefly in Melstone and settled in Billings, Montana. They had four children, Rae, Calvin, Dale and Jeri. When Hazel's husband, Kent, died in an accident Hazel and her children came to live with the family and the number of children increased with George, Sheila, Punky and Dennis. Helen became the caretaker of the eight children; Scotty and Hazel were the breadwinners. The kids often confused the two and at some point in time, were faced with telling their mom some problem, only to have the Aunt turn around and tell them to go tell their own mother instead.
Helen was a volunteer—beginning with brownies, girl scouts and cub scouts. Years after the girls were done with girl scouts, Helen was still running the uniform exchange in Billings. She was a member of the Billings Drill Team and had some of the best legs from all that marching. As an avid bowler she attended the Nationals Bowling Tournaments on multiple occasions. And the pins, patches, and trophies! If she didn't come home with something, well, it was merely an oversight. Helen had an artistic side as well. She painted in oils, made ceramics and porcelain dolls. Family and friends all received her work, which will be treasured for many more years to come. In Casper, she was a driver for meals on wheels for a number of years. And let us not forget her cooking. She raised the kids, grandkids and great grandkids on macaroni and tomatoes. She also baked cinnamon rolls, cookies and lemon meringue pie. Her carrot cake was infamous, and yes, the family has the recipe, but will never again have that special ingredient which was her love that went into every one of those cakes. And we would be remiss if we didn't mention her coleslaw and, of course, the macaroni salad. Helen loved home grown tomatoes and flower and was never without both around her home. Reading was her other great pastime. There were not enough books around to keep her satisfied.

In 1970, Helen and Scotty made a life changing decision and sold their home, bought an oil field truck and moved to Casper, Wyoming. Helen managed the financial end of the business and Scotty drove the truck. What followed was Helen's greatest love—her grandchildren. Each and every one of them must have believed they were the favorite grandchild. And each and every one of them was indeed her favorite. She never babysat a single one of them, but she spent as much time as possible with them when she could. They favorite story in the family concerns her granddaughter Jamie. As a young child, Jamie was diagnosed with diabetes. Helen was bound and determined that she was not giving up her time with Jamie and went to be trained in how to manage the diabetes, testing Jamie's blood and giving her insulin. And life went on with Helen spending as much time as ever with her grandchild. Every grandchild or great grandchild knew they could call her for anything at any time. If they were hungry, she would feed them, if they needed a ride, she would take them, if they just wanted time with her, it was theirs. She was very blessed to have so much time with the next generation.


Helen will be greatly missed, but her family knows she is now at peace. Their grief will lessen with time, but the memories will always remain.