Coralea D. Richmond

Coralea D. (Helgesen) Richmond, age 95, of Watertown, SD, passed away on Tuesday, January 22, 2019, at a local care facility. Private family services will take place at a later date. Coralea was born at home on January 5, 1924, to Clark and Maud (Dunsmore) Thorn in Miranda, SD. Her father worked on the railroad and when she was six years old, he was transferred to Henry, SD. She lived there until 1930 when her father was transferred again, this time to Watertown. She went to junior and senior high school in Watertown, graduating in 1943. After graduation, she worked for a short time at Tuck's Café. Then she went to work at North American Creamery, cleaning turkeys for Thanksgiving and Christmas. When they were finished with them, she broke eggs that were powdered and sent to the servicemen during World War II. In 1945, she met and married Marvin Helgesen. To this union, two children were born, Milo and Bonnie. In 1954, they moved to Black Hawk, SD. While living at Black Hawk, Marvin worked as a butcher. In 1957, Marvin passed away. Shortly after his passing, Coralea and the children moved back to Watertown. Later she met and married Duaine Richmond. They lived in Watertown before moving back to Rapid City, SD. Duaine was a truck driver so they moved several times. After the children were married and had left home, she traveled with him a lot. In 1983 they moved to be close to their children. In 1988, Duaine passed away. In the fall of that same year, Coralea moved back to Watertown where she lived until her passing. She was a member of the First Baptist Church in Watertown. Coralea is survived by her son, Milo Helgesen, of Ojai, CA, her daughter, Bonnie (Gordon) Mitchell, of Chino Valley, AZ, 7 grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren and her sister, Adelia Thorn of Watertown, SD. She was preceded in death by her two husbands, her parents, two brothers, and four sisters.

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