Don and Geraldine
DONALD LEE HELLE, 15g (George A. 14, Frederick 13)
b.
Smithfield, IL; 30 Sep. 1908
d.Tiskilwa, IL; 18 July 1961
br. Tiskilwa, IL; Mt. Bloom Cemetery
m.1st - GERALDINE MCCLUEN dv. 1939
DONALD LEE HELLE was the fifth son of George A. and Ida (Kaler) Helle born a few months before the family moved from Smithfield to a farm seven miles northwest of Cuba. Sister Ethel relates, "Mom said when I was born everyone was making over me, a girl born into the family of five boys, and Don was quietly watching on. Royle who was only
six years old saw the effect upon Don and picked him up and rocked him. Eventually Don and I had our own language. If anyone wanted to know what we were saying, I did the
interpreting to them, then we would continue our conversation in our own language. When I was five and Don was six, Mom sent me to school so l could help Don who was so shy."
Don preferred working in the timber. When George Adam and the younger brothers moved to Bureau County, Don also headed'north and made his home there. He first married
GERALDINE MCCLUEN by whom he had one son:
CHARLES LEE HELLE, 16g
b.Kewanee, IL; 1 Feb. 1935
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Frederick 13)
b.Kewanee, IL; 1 Feb. 1935
m.Wyoming, IL; Dec. 1955. d. May 1968
PHYLLIS McGUIRE
b. 4 June 1938
Lee and Phyllis had four children:
GERALD LEE HELLE, 17g
b.Ft. Lee, VA; 11 Apr. 1959
TEREASA LOUISE HELLE, 17g
b.Ft. Lee, VA; 27 June 1960
ROBERTA KAY HELLE, 1 7g
b.Kewanee, IL; 3 Oct. 1961
KENDRA SUE HELLE, 17g
b.Tacoma, WA; 23 Apr. 1963
Shawn Marie Helle 17g
b. Tacoma, WA; 13 March 1968
Don and Jean
DONALD LEE HELLE, 15g (George A. 14, Frederick 13)
m. 2nd - Buffalo, IA; 31 Mar. 1940
HALLIE JEAN UNDERWOOD, daughter of Elijah
W. and Laur Etta (Skaggs) Underwood
b.Tiskilwa, IL; 13 Dec. 1921
Don and Jean had six children:
MARILYN DEANNE HELLE, 16g
b.Princeton, IL; 24 July 1941
KENNETH ROY HELLE, 16g
b.Princeton, IL; 21 Nov. 1943
TERRY DON HELLE, 16g
b.Princeton, IL; 20 July 1945
JAMES DALE HELLE, 16g
b.Princeton, IL; 5 July 1948
DONNA JEAN HELLE, 16g
b.Princeton, IL; 30 Sep. 1949
BEVERLY SUE HELLE, 16g
b.Princeton, IL; 2 June 1951
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"We Remember
Gail Helle, brother
Don was a great big sentimental guy whose heart was as big as he was. When I was in the Air Force, Bernice and our two little girls came down to Mississippi to stay a couple of months with me. On the way back she had car trouble, ran out of money and had no place to get any. She made a telephone call to Don and the money was there within a few hours. That was Don; he might ask but he always gave. I remember his shooting ability and his love of hounds and hunting. He was determined to play the fiddle and his chording on the piano was one of the best. He loved dancing.
Kenneth Helle, son
After receiving a copy of the book of poems which his uncle, Royle Helle, had published, Kenneth wrote to Royle and enclosed a poem of his own. In the poem Kenneth wrote
the following lines about his father:
I am going to run my hounds tonight
Them old coyotes will be in for a fight.
I have six hounds that are close and dear
When I hear them run I wish Dad was back here.
Dad would be proud of the hounds I keep
Some day in foxhunter's heaven Dad and I will meet.
Until that day comes I will do my best
Cause some day I know I will get my rest.
If my kids are as proud of me as I was Dad
The good Lord knows I won't be sad.
At age fifty - two, Don was electrocuted at work. His obituary reads in part:
Area Man Electrocution Victim
Donald Helle, 52, a former Fulton county resident, was electrocuted Tuesday afternoon while at work in a wooded area near Tiskilwa.
An inquest conducted at the scene showed that Helle's death occurred accidentally when a truck crane boom, operated by another worker, struck a high - voltage power line.
Don Helle was on a truck helping load wood. He and his brothers Gene and Verle operated a sawmill at Oregon, Ill.
He is survived by his wife four sons, three daughters, his mother, nine brothers and two sisters...
Services will be at the Tiskilwa Mennonite Church where the Rev. Ben Esch will officiate.
Frederick 13)
b. Princeton, IL; 20 Nov. 1943
d. Princeton, IL: 31 May 1990
m.Tiskilwa, IL; Tiskilwa Mennonite Church; 30 Nov. 1963
ANN SHARON GREEN, daughter of Orville and
Juanita Gladys (Mahan) Green
b.Leachville, Ar; 2 July 1947
Kenneth and Ann had three children:
b.Princeton, IL; 8 Aug. 1966
b.Princeton, IL; 6 Aug. 1968
b.Princeton, IL; 30 Sep. 1974
Frederick 13)
b.Princeton, IL; 20 July 1945
m.Tiskilwa, IL; 14 Oct. 1964
KAREN ALICE HARROD, daughter of George
Nathan and Esther Regina (Lindner) Harrod
b.Princeton, IL; 20 Aug. 1947
Terry and Karen are the parents of:
SHERRI LEE HELLE, 17g
b.Princeton, IL; 26 Feb. 1965
JULIE JEAN HELLE, 17g
b.Princeton, IL; 28 June 1968
JODIE REGINA HELLE, 17g
b.Princeton, IL; 28 June 1968
COREY JAMES HELLE, 17g
b.Davenport, IA; 17 Aug. 1971
LAURIE LYNN HELLE, 17g
b.Davenport, IA; 12 Mar. 1973
JAMES DALE HELLE, 16g (Donald 15, George A. 14,
Frederick 13)
b.Princeton, IL; 5 July 1948
m.Rock Falls, IL; United Methodist Church; 21
June 1970
KAREN EARLENE FOLSOM, daughter of Lawson
and Doris Lee (Bruhn) Folsom, Jr.
b.Sterling, IL;
James and Karen are the parents of:
b.Sterling, IL; 29 Nov. 1970
b.Sterling, IL; 29 Jan. 1976
DONNA JEAN HELLE, 16g (Donald 15, George A. 14,
Frederick 13)
b.Princeton, IL; 30 Sep. 1949
m.Princeton, IL; 1 May 1976
RALPH EUGENE BARKER, son of LaVerne Carl
and Lola Mae (Turner) Barker
b.Princeton, IL; 19 Feb. 1948
Donna and Ralph are the parents of:
ANGELA DAWN BARKER, 17g
b.Princeton, IL; 8 May 1979
CLARISSA BETH BARKER, 17g
b.Princeton, IL; 27 Sep. 1981
