Helen Marie Landru

Helen Marie Opsahl Landru passed away peacefully on Oct 24, 2024 at the age of 93. Born in Decorah Iowa on July 16, 1931 during the depths of the Great Depression, Helen was the eldest of five children. She was raised on a farm and put herself through a bachelor’s degree at Luther College. After a brief stint doing social work in Chicago, she found a job listing in the newspaper as a parish worker for Trinity Lutheran Church in Santa Barbara. So off to California she went. She was hired by her soon-to-be father-in-law, and met her husband, Robert Landru, in the Trinity church choir. They were married within a year and eventually became parents to four daughters. Helen and Bob were founding members of Christ Lutheran Church in Goleta in 1965, and to the congregation devoted many decades of service. Helen is survived by her daughters, Laurel (Johnson), Jeanna, Judith, and Liana, her seven grandchildren, Maxence, Megan, Thomas, Sasha, Sarah, Hannah, and Xavier, and her brother, Richard Opsahl.

A memorial service will be held on 12/13/24 at Christ Lutheran Church, 6595 Covington Way, Goleta CA at 11:00am.