By HDN Staff
NANCY L. FOURNIER
Nancy L. Fournier, 60, died Monday, Dec. 27, 1999, at a Great Falls hospital.
Memorial services will be held 7 p.m. Thursday at Van Orsdel United Methodist Church.
Fournier was born Aug. 14, 1939, in Havre, to Frank and Katherine Clikeman. The family lived in Zurich until moving to Chinook where she grew up and graduated from Chinook High School in 1957. She was the class Salutitorian. Immediately after graduation she moved to San Francisco, Calif., to live with her brother and sister-in-law. She worked briefly for the Remington Rand Company saving money to go to college. She began nurses training in September of 1958 at Montana State College in Bozeman completing her clinical studies at the Deaconess Hospital in Great Falls. She graduated in 1961. After graduating and passing her state boards she worked as a registered nurse at the hospital in Great Falls.
In 1962, she moved to Spokane, Wash., where she worked at Spokane Deaconess Hospital as a registered nurse. In 1964, she moved to San Francisco where she worked as an airline stewardess for United Air Lines.
On Dec. 17, 1965, she married Daniel P. Helmke. She worked briefly at the hospital in San Francisco. The couple later moved to Washington. They were divorced in 1973. She moved to Havre and was employed as an RN at Deaconess Hospital and later Northern Montana Hospital.
In 1978, she married Ted Fournier. She continued to work at Northern Montana Hospital until 1989, when she completed her bachelor's degree in education at Northern Montana College graduating in 1991.
She worked as a substitute teacher in Havre public schools for a year and at Davey School in 1992. She taught until illness prevented her from working.
She was an active member of the Van Orsdel United Methodist Church for more than 20 years. She sang in the Chancel Choir, played in the handbell choir, taught Sunday School, and was a member of several committees.
She was preceded in death by her parents and a sister, Margaret Marie.
Survivors include her husband, Ted Fournier of Havre; daughters, Christy Fletcher of Peoria, Ill., and Cynthia Helmke of Salem, Ore.; a son, Joe Fournier of Billings; a sister, Linda Higbea; brothers, Dick, Ted, John and Charlie Clikeman; and two grandchildren.
Memorials are suggested to the Van Orsdel United Methodist Church, the Gift of Life Foundation or the Gift of Life Housing in Great Falls.
