Joe Helle on his 94th birthday Jan 2000,
and Joann ( Helle ) Courtney. ( niece)
Joseph Helle
CUBA, IL
Joseph A Helle, 94, of 714 E Harrison St.
Died at 12:30 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2000 at Graham
Hospital Extended Care in Canton.
Born Jan 8, 1906, in Smithfield to George and Ida KalerHelle, Joe married Myrtle Bolon in Cartage, IL. She died March
15, 1965.
Joe latter married Henrietta Stevenson Jackson in Smith-Field. She survives,
Also surviving are two stepsons, John (and Becky) JacksonOf Morton and Edwin (and Kay) Jackson of San Diego; three step-
Children, one stepgreat-granddaughter and one brother, Gene of
Arkansas.
Eight brothers and three sisters preceded Joe in death,Joe owned and operated Spoon River Lumber Co. in rural Smith-
Field for many years and also farmed in the area.
Joe was a member of the Fulton Farm Bureau and the FultonCounty Cancer Society, he was also a former president of the
Historical Genealogical Society, Spoon River Scenic Drive Association
Fulton County Health Department and the Western Illinois Here-
Ford Association.
In 1966 Joe donated land to the village of Smithfield, whichWas named Helle Park.
Joe attended Cuba Church of the Nazarene, where services Will be at 10:30 Saturday. The Revs Ralph Hill and Chris Jackson
Will officiate.
Memorials may be made to Cuba Church of the Nazarene, orClayberg Fulton County Nursing Home
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Joe's nephew Dwight Helle wrote the below
A small church in Cuba served as the background for Joe Helle's final
tribute. In attendance were the surviving brother, 4 of his children, and 9
other nieces and nephews along with their spouses. Equally represented were
about 40 members of the community. When you live to 94 you outlive your
peers it seems. I counted 80 people in the little church. My detractors
will tell you I am a number freak. They would be right (all 17 of them.)
Cousin Dave was the main speaker. He regaled the audience with stories of
Joe's wit and generosity. Helle funerals are the only ones I have ever
attended that laughter is commonplace. Dave has a dry wit and delivered the
punch lines with a boyish grin that charmed the audience and made us all feel
that we were celebrating Joe's life, not mourning his death. One of the
stepsons followed Dave and truly made us aware of how great a father that he
was. I felt like I was witnessing Opie's eulogy of Andy right down to
pulling catfish out of the river. Uncle Royal would have been proud to have
seen his granddaughter play the piano while her two sons sang the hymn. This
author was moved by the selection of old country melodies that were selected.
The congregation sang amazing Grace. The third line is particularly
poignant for funerals. As we exited the church we heard the refrains from
days gone by. The biggest plus of all was we did not hear what Joann and I
call the Andy song. ("Andy walked with me, Andy talked with me -------).
After the graveside services some of us wandered the cemetery grounds in
search of grandparents long lost. It happens that this cemetery contains the
remains of great grandfather Fred Helle and also Nellie Helle's parents and
grandparents. For this author that is a lot of grandparents. I also found
the tombstone of a young man that I went around the world with aboard a Navy
ship. (He was lost to lethal combination of alcohol and gasoline, a curve, a
motorcycle, etc.)
The gathering back at the church was where the ties came off and the stories
came out. By sheer chance I happened to sit next to Uncle Gene and so I got
a chance to hear some stories. By the way, he is 82 and does have a
mother-in-law. (Note to Maurice: That beats the 70 year-old with his father
story). After many stories a lady approached us whom was born a Helle. Her
dad would have been Gene and Joe's first cousin. She noted that not only was
Gene the last of the 13 children of George and Ida, but also the last of all
of his first cousins. (In our generation that is 49, probably closer to 100
in his). I was reluctant to explain that to Uncle Gene, but he seemed ok
with it as he remarked, "Well we know who is next, don't we." And yes, he
had a twinkle in his eye.
Dwight
Joe and Myrtle
picture would have been taken late 20's - early 30's
