Moms Obituary

Helen went to join her heavenly Father, husband and daughter on January 13, 2016.  She was greeted with open arms by the rest of her family.  Helen was born on December 29, 1925 to Aloysius Otto and Theresa Schmitz in St. Cloud, MN.  The youngest of four children, she attended grade school in St. Cloud and graduated from Cathedral High school in 1943.

She moved to Kennewick in 1944 to help care for her older sister’s four children.  In the mid-forties she enrolled at Sacred Heart Nursing School in Spokane.  She left school to marry Olin her husband of 56 years.  They purchased a home on Birch Ave. in Richland where they lived until Olin’s death in 2003.  She continued living in the home until her death.

She was a stay at home mom to her two daughters.  She was actively involved in their education and extra-curricular activities.  She was a Girl Scout leader at Christ the King where her daughters’ attended elementary school.  She helped 10 girls earn their Marion Award religious medals while in scouting. 

As a devoted catholic she attended daily mass until her eye sight failed and she could no longer walk to the church.  At one time she was part of the Catholic Altar Society and washed and cleaned the altar linens on a regular basis. She attended weekly mass up until two weeks before her death.

She learned to type braille and transcribed text books for children in the local area schools.  Unfortunately, she never learned to read the braille but enjoyed many hours of listening to books on tape.

She also was an active member of the Kadlec Hospital Auxiliary working in various services over the years.  She was a member of Kadlec Kreations until her death.  She crocheted over 100 baby afghan’s, many dish cloths, slippers and made scrubbies for the annual Bazaar.  She was made an honorary member in 2015 because of her many years and hours of service.  She had over 22,000 hours of service at the time of her death.

She always had a joke for anyone who would listen.  She lived independently until her stroke in May of 2015 when she moved in with her daughter Jeanne (Richard) where she remained in good health until a week before her passing.

She was preceded in death by husband Olin, daughter Joanne Pearce, her mother and father, sister, Sally Kuklinski, brothers Cyril and Gordon (Bud) Schmitz, nephew Michael Kuklinski and numerous aunts, uncles and cousins.

She is survived by daughter Jeanne Davis (Richard), grandson Andrew Pearce (Beverly), grandchildren and great grandchildren (by marriage), many nephews, nieces, and great friends.

Visitation with a Rosary will be held at Events at Sunset on Thursday, January 21, 2016. Viewing will be held from 6:00pm-8:00pm with Rosary at 7:00pm. A Funeral Mass will be held at Christ the King Catholic Church on Friday, January 22, 2016 from 10:00am to 11:00am with a graveside to follow at Sunset Gardens in Richland.