Helen Rose (Hessler) Witham (1918 - 2013)

Born 16 Dec 1918 in Jerome, Idaho, United States

Died 8 Sep 2013 at age 94 in Colville, Stevens, Washington, United States

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Biography

Helen Rose (Hessler) Witham passed away peacefully on September 8, 2013 at Buena Vista Nursing Home in Colville, where she had lived for the past several years.

She was born Dec. 16, 1918 in Jerome, Idaho to Arthur and Elizabeth (Shaw) Hessler. She lived in Jerome through her school years and attended Kinman Business College in Spokane. She met her husband, Irwin, while in Jerome and they married on March 20, 1941 in Jerome. From this union three sons were born: James, Thomas and William Frederick.

Shortly after they were married, they lived in Seattle, then to Oroville and Jerome. Helen and Irwin moved to the Colville area in 1951.

Helen worked at the Stevens County Auditor's Office, retiring in 1981. She had been a member of the Colville United Methodist Church since 1951 and was a member of the Rebekah Lodge No. 90 in Colville.

Irwin and Helen traveled after her retirement, visiting places such as Mexico, Hawaii, Alaska; many locations in the U.S. and Australia. After Irwin's death in 1997, Helen became acquainted with the computer, and began writing her memoirs.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Irwin in 1997; by her parents, Arthur and Elizabeth Hessler; her brother Arthur Duane Hessler, and by her youngest son, William Frederick Witham.

Helen is survived by two brothers, Kenneth Hessler of Jerome; and Thomas Marston Hessler, Lacey; her two sons, James and wife Susan of Colville and Thomas and wife Patricia of Spokane; four grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

Funeral service will be held at 1 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 12 at the Danekas Funeral Chapel in Colville, with interment to follow at the Mountain View Park Cemetery.

Memorials may be made to the Colville Community Senior Center, PO Box 29, Colville, WA 99114.

Please visit the online memorial and sign the guestbook at www.DenekasFuneralChapel.com.

Sources

• Obituary, Statesman Examiner, (probably) 12-Sep-2013.