Julene Swenson Obituary

Julene, age 79 of Stillwater, passed away peacefully February 13, 2026.

Born on the farm in Paullina, IA in 1946, and the oldest of three children of Edward and Viola (Dau) Hellmann. She adored raising her calf, Soda Pop.

Julene always had a plan and put it into action. She put herself through South Dakota State University by nannying while taking classes. Upon graduation, she began teaching in Dubuque (IA) Public Schools, where she met her future husband, Jon R. Swenson. Julene and Jon moved to Minnesota in the mid 1970's and continued their long careers as educators. Jon was the principal at Stillwater High School (1975-1995). Julene taught home economics at Woodbury High School (1975-2003), where she also established the long-running preschool program, Little People's Palace, and served as the school's Service Occupations Coordinator. Julene enjoyed placing students in the field - teaching them skills to aid in the school-to-work transition. A career highlight was being named the national Home Economics Teacher of the Year in 1994 - the first home economist from Minnesota to receive this award.

In retirement, Julene traveled with Jon and, after his passing, found a new vocation at the Lake Elmo Library, where she assisted patrons and led their weekly preschool story time program. She also remained very active with state and national home economics (now family and consumer sciences) organizations, advocating on their behalf in public policy matters. In 2018, she was honored as a 50-year member of AAFCS.

Julene is survived by her daughter Sara, son-in-law Claude Sigmund, grandson Atticus Sigmund, sister Sheryl Fiddelke (Les), brother Joel Hellmann (Pat), many nieces and nephews, and dear friend Susie Dunn.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Jon, and her special friend, Edward Bieging, Sr.

A memorial service to celebrate Julene's life will be held at 11:00 AM on Saturday, February 21, 2026 at Our Savior's Lutheran Church, 1616 Olive St W, Stillwater, MN. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service at the church.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to FamilyMeans in Stillwater or the Stillwater Public Library.