Obit: Edmonds, Helen Marie (1928 - 2014)

Contact: Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon
E-mail: dolores@wiclarkcountyhistory.org 

Surnames: Edmonds, Noonan, Duffy, Doyle

----Source: Thorp Courier (Thorp, Clark Co, WI) 9/03/2014

Edmonds, Helen Marie (14 November 1928 - 26 August 2014)

Helen Marie Edmonds, age 85, died peacefully at her Appleton home on August 26, 2014, of cancer. She was born on the family farm in Gilman, Wisconsin on November 14, 1928, the seventh child and only daughter of the late Frank and Agatha (Noonan) Duffy. She left the farm after graduating from high school to attend St. Scholastica College in Duluth, Minnesota, graduating in 1950 with a Bachelor of Science degree, becoming the first woman in her family to graduate from college. In 1956 she married Millard S. “Ed” Edmonds, Jr., who died in 2004.

Her infant son, Vincent, also preceded her in death. Helen had two careers. Her first was a dietician, working at Mercy Hospital in Oshkosh, then as the Jefferson County Extension Agent, then at Theda Clark Hospital, and at Fresenius Dialysis as a renal dietician, where she ended her career. Her second and most important career was a mother of seven children: Michael (Amelia) of Madison; Anthony (Lynn) of Crystal, MN; Phillip (Jude) of Madison; Sarah of Appleton; Bernard (Sarah) of Appleton; Martha (Michael) Doyle of Dubuque, IA; and Vincent. She was a grandmother to eight: Daniel, Joseph, Nicholas, Abigail, Max, Isabel, Jack and Hugh. She was a member of Church Women United, a Christian ecumenical women’s movement committed to justice, peace, freedom, and gender and racial equality. She also leaves behind her great friends and wonderful neighbors at the Stonehedge Condominiums.

The funeral liturgy for Helen was held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, August 30, at St. Bernard Catholic Church. Memorials may be directed to Appleton COTS (PO Box 1645, Appleton, WI 54912) in Helen’s name.