Helen Lanning

Long time Casper resident, Helen M. Lanning, passed away in her home on April 12, 2012; she was 79 years old. Helen was born on May 15, 1932 in St. Joseph's hospital, Denver, Colorado, to Francis and Betty Swerer and spent her childhood in Denver. She attended Dora Moore elementary school with her sister Francis and brother Bobby and later graduated from East High School with follow-on education at the University of Colorado. While attending a wedding in Boulder with her mother, Helen met her future husband, Richard "Bud" Lanning. They were married in 1952. Following Bud to Casper in 1952 as part of the oil and gas exploration era in Wyoming, she began a life as a mother and housewife, bearing four sons. In addition to raising and managing a family during her time in Casper, she volunteered in community activities and developed lifelong friendships through her passions in bridge, literature, tennis, and the arts. Helen was preceded in death by her husband in 1966. Helen is survived by her four sons, Dave (Sharon) of Hawaii, Bruce (Melissa) of Colorado, Greg (Lynne) of Idaho, and Todd of Colorado, grandsons Wade, Brock and Joe, her sister Frannie Ellinwood, brother Bob Swerer and sisters-in-law Mary Porter and Vonnie Wolf. Services, including a reunion with her husband Bud, will be held at Logan Cemetery at a later date. A memory and thought for how she lived: "In youth our ignorance gives us courage, With age our courage gives us hope, With hope we learn that we are more than the sum of what we may have done, Helen lived a life of hope, and in the process became an inspiration to us all - "