Town mourns a respected citizen

Tor-Erik Helgaard felt a responsibility as a Franklin resident to be involved. And he did not take it lightly.

He spent four years on the School Committee fighting for smaller class sizes and bigger school budgets, and against corporate advertising in schools. He ran for Town Council two years ago, saying he wanted to save Franklin's ''small-town charm." And he wrote countless letters to newspapers and state officials questioning town actions and demanding reform.

''Eric was principled and passionate," said Elise Nulton, a friend and former colleague of Mr. Helgaard's on the School Committee. ''He never did the politically expedient thing or took the popular position per se. It was always what was the right thing to do."

Mr. Helgaard died last weekend after months of battling adrenal cancer, friends said. He was 62.

Those who fell under Mr. Helgaard's glare, such as the councilors he accused of holding illegal secret meetings, haven't always liked his methods.

But Selectman Robert Vallee, who occasionally butted heads with Mr. Helgaard, said he respected him.

''I think he was misinformed on some legal issues, but outside of that, he did the right thing. He worked very hard for the town. And he was 100 percent for the School Department. That is what we need," Vallee said

Friends said the town needs more people like Mr. Helgaard, characterizing him as an idealist.

''He was a very dedicated person," said Ken Norman, who worked with Mr. Helgaard in an unsuccessful campaign for a review of the town charter. ''Once he decided on an idea or had an opinion on something, he was very tenacious in his approach to it."

Friends said he showed even more passion for those closest to him.

''He was crazy about his family," said Paula Mullen, a friend and former colleague on the School Committee. Mullen recounted that soon after Mr. Helgaard was diagnosed last fall, he told her how proud he was of his wife and children, and how lucky he felt to have seen his children grow up into the adults they became.

''He was also proud to say that he had a strong marriage all these years," Mullen said of Margaret ''Peg" Helgaard, his wife of 37 years.

In addition to his wife, Mr. Helgaard leaves his daughters, Kristen Marie and Karin Allison Helgaard of Franklin.

Mr. Helgaard was born in Drammen, Norway, on Feb. 20, 1943, and raised in Arlington. He attended private schools in Maine and New Hampshire, and later graduated from Northeastern University with a finance degree.

Friends said he loved music and loved golf, and was an avid pilot and a member of the Airlines Owners & Pilots Association.

Even when he was sick, friends said, he wouldn't give up and continued to make future plans.

He had plans this month, they said, to rent a houseboat for an excursion with his wife. The picture that will be left in many people's minds will be of Mr. Helgaard this spring zipping around town in his green Mazda Miata convertible, with the top down and the wind blowing through his gray hair.

''I don't think I'll ever meet someone like Eric again," Mullen said. ''I don't know if they make them like that anymore."

Franco Ordoñez can be reached at fordonez@globe.com.