Helen Beardsley

Helen Eileen Beardsley (née Brandmeir, formerly North, April 5, 1930 – April 26, 2000) was the mother of the famous blended family of twenty children — eight by her first marriage to Richard North, ten stepchildren from her second husband Frank Beardsley, and two that she and Frank had during their marriage. She wrote a book, Who Gets the Drumstick?, about her blended family's experiences. The book was the basis for two motion pictures: the 1968 Yours, Mine and Ours, starring Lucille Ball and Henry Fonda; and a 2005 remake of the same film with Rene Russo and Dennis Quaid.

Helen Brandmeir was born in 1930 in Seattle, Washington. Her father owned a lumber mill, which came under severe stress during the Great Depression. Helen would later describe how her observations of her father would shape her personality, and in particular how it would teach her to value independence and problem-solving.

Brandmeir trained as a nurse in Seattle. In 1949 at age 19 she married Richard North, then a chief petty officer in the United States Navy. Their marriage lasted for eleven years and produced eight children. In 1960, the Norths were stationed at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Washington and Helen was six months pregnant with their eighth child, Teresa Rose. Now a Lieutenant, junior grade and A-3 Skywarrior bombardier navigator, North was killed on June 7, 1960, when the A-3 he was flying veered off the runway during takeoff at NAS Whidbey Island / Ault Field and crashed in 5 1/2 feet of water.

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