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Helen Sylvia
(Bowers – Trice) Hall was born in Vancouver, Washington on May 3, 1937 to LaVerne Bedell and Charles
Bowers. Her father died when she was 5. Two years later, her mother
later married Walter Baldwin Trice who adopted
her. They lived in Spokane, Washington until they moved to Anchorage
Alaska in December of 1948. The Trices had four
other daughters: Jeanne, Cathy, Susan and Cindy. Helen graduated from
Anchorage High School in 1955 and then attended the University of Alaska at
Fairbanks. Beginning in 1956, she worked for a year at the Alaska Kulis National Guard She married Robert
(Bert) Hall on May 24, 1957 in Anchorage while he was an Army Medic stationed
at Fort Richardson. They moved to Berkeley, California while he attended
the American Baptist Seminary of the West for three years and she monitored a
number of classes. While there, she had her first two sons, Robert Ayer, Jr.
and Mark Jonathan. In 1960, the family
moved to Cordova, Alaska where they were both commissioned as Missionaries by
the American Baptist Home Mission Society. While there, she had a
daughter, Sheryl Lynn and son, David Daryl. The family moved to
Anchorage in 1965 where Helen cared for the family which grew when her
sisters came to live with them in 1967 at their Conners’
Lake home. She worked for the Public Works Department until the family moved
to Juneau in 1969. Helen worked part-time for the Alaska Dept of Economic
Development until they returned to Anchorage.
Bert and Helen were divorced in 1971 but remarried two years
later. Helen later moved to Anchor Point for a few years and worked at
the Homer Harbormaster’s Office. Upon returning to Anchorage in the fall of
1985, Helen returned to work at the Municipality of Anchorage Public Works Department.
In 1987, Bert & Helen were remarried and moved to Wasilla Lake. Helen
retired in 1992. They “snow-birded” for several weeks a year in the
“lower 48” by motor home after Bert’s retirement in 1994. In 1998, Helen had
both of her knees replaced followed by breast cancer which was treated with
surgery and five years of medication. Foot surgery was next and all is
now well. She is extremely active in the Presbyterian Church, multiple
Red Hat groups and being an involved grandmother. |
