Helen Roesler was born on May 24th, 1933, to Samuel and Katie Roesler. She was born on the family farm near the town of Napoleon in Logan County, North Dakota. She attended country school through the 8th grade, then went on to attend Napoleon High School, which she graduated from in 1953. Helen attended Valley City State College for several summer school sessions to become qualified to teach elementary school. She taught at country schools in both Logan County and Kidder County for four years. She then moved to Jamestown, where she worked as a waitress at several different restaurants. During that time, she met Keith Hennings through his brother Larry, whose eventual wife was Helen’s roommate. Helen and Keith were married at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Jamestown.