Mary Helen Ahlbrandt
November 16, 1925 - July 21, 2026
Funeral Mass of Christian Burial for MARY HELEN AHLBRANDT, 100, will be held at 1pm Friday July 31, 2026, at the Saint Rose Catholic Church with Father Ray Moss officiating. Burial will follow in the Valley View Cemetery. Mary Helen passed away peacefully July 21, 2026, at the Life Care Center in Cheyenne, Wyoming and cremation has taken place. Arrangements are under the direction of the Colyer Funeral Home and condolences may be sent to www.colyerfuneralhome.com Mary Helen was born on November 16, 1925, to James and Elizabeth (Collins) MeKiney in Alliance, Nebraska, where her father was a pharmacist. Her father purchased a farm in Bayard, Nebraska, and later a farm in Veteran, Wyoming, where as a young girl she rode her horse to school in Yoder. In third grade she transferred to school in Veteran, and later to Torrington, where she graduated from high school. Following graduation and working in Torrington at the Ben Franklin dime store and at Sichcs Manufacturing, she became engaged to her childhood sweetheart, Woodrow Ahlbrandt. After his return from the Naval Service aboard an aircraft carrier during WWII, they were married on September 4, 1946, and moved to the Ahlbrandt Homestead in Veteran where they embarked on a successful career in farming and ranching. They raised five children there, Thomas, Susan, Ray, Peggy, and John, who all graduated from the University of Wyoming. Mary Helen was a life-long member of the St. Rose Catholic Church in Torrington. She was very active in social and community life and served on the Veteran Election Board for many years. She and Woodrow traveled with their children throughout the United States and to several foreign counties. She was a loving and beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and great grandmother. Woodrow passed away in 2003, and Mary Helen stayed at the family farm until 2006, when she moved to an apartment in Cheyenne near her daughter Susan Bennett, and in 2019 moved to Sierra Hills Assisted Living in Cheyenne. Mary Helen is survived by her children Thomas (Mary) Ahlbrandt of Missoula, MT, Susan (Gerald) Bennett of Cheyenne, Ray (Sylvia) Ahlbrandt of Henderson, NV, Peggy (Patrick) Starr of Highlands Ranch, CO, and John (Brenda) Ahlbrandt of Casper, WY. She had 6 grandchildren and 14 great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, brothers Robert, William, and Donald, sister Elizabeth (Schaffner), and her infant son, Brian.
