Obituary of Helen Mae Engle

Toots was born in Fruitdale, South Dakota on December 29, 1931 to Henry and Lena Bisterfelt. She was preceded in death by her husband of 54 years, Vurgal; five brothers--Fritz, Raymond (Sonny), Richard (Dick), Calvin, and Joe; and two sisters—Joanne Bisterfelt, and Ilene (Sissy) Higgins. She is survived by two sisters--Elaine Weatherby and Dorothy Carlson; three children—Edith Prince, Jay Engle, and Kurt Engle; six grandchildren—Scott Prince, Jeff Prince, Melissa Engle, Jaylynn Bustamante, Malcom Engle, and Kati Engle; and six great-grandchildren—Dashay, Jayshayn, Zara, Zaly, Malcom, Jr. and Zachary. Toots was born at home in the family apartment above the local grocery store. When she was 11, the family moved to Washington State, finally settling on a farm in Finley, Washington. Here she met Vurgal Engle – he was a school bus driver -- and they married in November 1948 when she was just 16. In December 1949, Edith was born followed by Kurt in August 1951 and in December 1952 Jay was born in Price, Utah. They lived in Utah for a short time, but Toots was homesick for her family and and home, so they headed back to Washington, eventually settling in Seattle where they lived for 28 years. After Vurgal’s retirement they moved to their retirement home in the desert near Mattawa, Washington where Toots lived until her death in 2008. Arrangements by Edwards Memorial Center 253-566-1008