Anita “Kathie” Helser

Published 12:26 am Wednesday, July 13, 2016

April 24 1945 – April 22 2016

Kathie was born in Portland, Oregon, on April 24, 1945, to Joseph Marvin and CeReatha Mae Fought. She attended Wallace Park Elementary school and graduated from Sunset High School in 1964. In 1988, she graduated from Marylhurst University with a Bachelor of Arts in Art.

Kathie worked as an airline stewardess (as they were called back then) for Eastern Airlines in her early 20s. She married her first husband, Charles Hoyt, in 1969. They moved to Camp Sherman in 1975 with their two young children. Soon afterward, they moved to Sisters and Kathie helped Chuck start the family business, Hoyt’s Hardware & Building Supply.

Kathie married Richard Helser, from Portland, Oregon, in 1988. Sisters was her home and she wasn’t about to be relocated to Portland even for love, so Dick and Kathie spent a lot of time going back and forth between their two homes in Portland and Sisters. Kathie and Dick shared their passions for travel and spent lots of time traveling the world.

Kathie was one of the early members of the Sisters Chamber of Commerce where she volunteered many hours. She had lots of different jobs over the years including, full-time mother, part-time bookkeeper, and waitress at the Hotel Sisters. She worked as a sales person at Common Threads for several years. She put her creativity to use and started an interior design business called, Helser Design. After Dick retired, they bought Cascade Fitness, which they operated together for seven years. Recently, she spent five years volunteering as the coordinator for the Smart Reading program at Sisters Elementary.

Kathie was very active and athletic. She enjoyed skiing, hiking and bicycling the Sisters country. Kathie was a passionate and creative photographer. She mastered the fine art of black and white photography. She spent lots of time in the dark room she built in her home. She also enjoyed print making, water color painting, and quilting. She had a heart for Rock and Roll and loved to attend concerts. Van Morrison and Eric Clapton were her favorite musicians.

Kathie lived life to the fullest with passion and exhilaration as told by her radiant smile that expressed the love she had for everyone dear to her. She is survived by her husband, Richard Helser; daughter, Chelsie Hoyt- Gloeckner; son, Tyler Hoyt; stepson, Max Helser; and stepdaughter, Berit Pement; six grandchildren, two new great-grandbabies, and countless friends.

Next time you are in the Sisters Saloon, make sure to check out the lady in red on the back wall. That’s Kathie doing the Can-Can with her buddies.

A celebration of Kathie’s life will be held at the Camp Sherman Community Hall at 3pm on Saturday, July 16th.