The funeral mass will be livestreamed. To view the livestream, please click the following link:<\/p>\n
https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCQR7D-gy6Z3TmeXSQ5Sk45w\/featured<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Kathleen \u201cKathy\u201d A. (Whelan) Sampson, 66, of Helena, MT was called to Heaven on January 30, 2026, surrounded by love.<\/p>\n
Kathy was born in Butte, Montana on February 26, 1959, to John \u201cJack\u201d and Roberta \u201cBobbie\u201d Whelan. She was the second oldest of six children. Kathy attended St. Ann\u2019s and Hawthorn Elementary School, then South Central, and graduated from Butte Central High School in 1977. She met her best friend and future husband Mike Sampson while at Central and they started dating their senior year. Kathy then went on to graduate from the University of Montana in accounting. While she enjoyed school and the friendships made in Missoula, she rushed through in three years to return to Mike and her family. She graduated in May 1980 and married her high school sweetheart six months later in November. They made their home in Butte until 1983 when they moved to Helena. They then welcomed their three children \u2013 Patrick, Kiely, and Shaun. Kathy referred to them as her three little Irishmen, and they were the joys of her life!<\/p>\n
As a family, Mike, Kathy, and the kids enjoyed camping and floating the rivers. They spent weekends skiing and when team sports started, the Sampson family traveled the state and even some of the country to support each other.<\/p>\n
Faith and family were most important in Kathy\u2019s life. She was very active in her faith community and taught religious education classes and Children\u2019s Liturgy of the Word for many years at St. Mary Catholic Community. Kathy loved spending time with her extended family. She treasured all her memories with the Whelans and the Sampsons.<\/p>\n
After college, Kathy went on to obtain her CPA. She was a shareholder with Anderson ZurMuehlen\/Employee Benefit Resources until her retirement in 2019. She enjoyed a remarkable 32-year career there where she worked with amazing people who became long time friends.<\/p>\n
Any spare time Kathy could find, she spent with various volunteer organizations. She served two terms on the Special Olympics of Montana board, an organization near and dear to her heart. She was also active in school boosters, Florence Crittenton, the Foundation for the Diocese of Helena, and many others.<\/p>\n
Kathy was an amazing wife, mom, daughter, sister, and friend. But perhaps her funnest role was \u201cBobo\u201d. She was a grandmother to nine wonderful grandchildren. After retirement, Kathy planned her days around her grandkids and their activities.<\/p>\n
Special thanks to the caregivers, especially Phoenix, Jerrica, and Chrissy, and hospice nurses who helped care for her during her battle with ALS.<\/p>\n
Kathy is predeceased in death by her father, Jack Whelan, and her father and mother-in-law, Bob and Patsy Sampson.<\/p>\n
She is survived by her husband, Mike Sampson, her mother Bobbie Whelan, her kids, Pat (Sarah) Sampson, Kiely (Bob) Thoen, Shaun (Mariah) Sampson, her grandchildren, Shane, Bryce, Chase, Lane, Kalan, Kyler, Miles, James, and Emily, her siblings, Joan Whelan, Mary (Mike) Crowe, John Whelan, Janet (Brian) White, Bob (Lana) Whelan, her brothers and sisters-in-law, Bill (Kathy) Sampson, Pat Sampson, Bob (Missy) Sampson, Dan (Jill) Sampson, Scott (Shannon) Sampson, her aunts, uncle and numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins.\u00a0 Kathy was blessed with a very large extended family who loved her dearly and will miss her very much.<\/p>\n
A vigil will be held on Tuesday, February 3rd<\/sup> at 7:00 p.m. and a funeral mass will follow on Wednesday, February 4th<\/sup> at 11:00 a.m. at St. Mary Catholic Community. A family interment service will be held at a later date at Holy Cross Cemetery in Butte.<\/p>\n In lieu of flowers, please send a donation to Special Olympics of Montana (710 1st<\/sup> Ave. North, Great Falls, MT), Montana ALS Association, or an organization of your choice.<\/p>\n","photo":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Sampson-Kathleen.jpeg","youtube_video_url":"","service_status":"public","event_title1":"Vigil","event_date1":"2026-02-03","start_time1":"7:00pm","end_time1":"","location1":"St. Mary's Catholic Community Church","address1":"1700 Missoula Ave.","city1":"Helena","state1":"Montana","zipcode1":"59601","event_title2":"Funeral Mass","event_date2":"2026-02-04","start_time2":"11:00am","end_time2":"","location2":"St. Mary's Catholic Community Church","address2":"1700 Missoula Ave.","city2":"Helena","state2":"Montana","zipcode2":"59601","event_title3":"Reception","event_date3":"2026-02-04","start_time3":"Following the Funeral Mass","end_time3":"","location3":"St. Mary's Catholic Community Church","address3":"1700 Missoula Ave.","city3":"Helena","state3":"Montana","zipcode3":"59601","event_title4":"","event_date4":"","start_time4":"","end_time4":"","location4":"","address4":"","city4":"","state4":"","zipcode4":"","event_title5":"","event_date5":"","start_time5":"","end_time5":"","location5":"","address5":"","city5":"","state5":"","zipcode5":"","event_title6":"","event_date":"","start_time6":"","end_time6":"","location6":"","address6":"","city6":"","state6":"","zipcode6":"","event_title7":"","event_date7":"","start_time7":"","end_time7":"","location7":"","address7":"","city7":"","state7":"","zipcode7":"","event_title8":"","event_date8":"","start_time8":"","end_time8":"","location8":"","address8":"","city8":"","state8":"","zipcode8":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/case\/32505","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/case"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/case"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32505"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32505"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}