Helen M. Willis, 100, of Farley, Iowa died Tuesday, November 15, 2016 at Hawkeye Care Center in Dubuque, Iowa.
Friends and relatives of Helen may call from 3 to 7 p.m. on Sunday, November 20, 2016 at the Reiff Funeral Home in Farley, Iowa, where a wake service will be held at 6:30 p.m.
Mass of Christian Burial for Helen will be held at 10:30 a.m., Monday, November 21, 2016 at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Farley, Iowa, with Msgr. Christopher Walsh presiding and Rev. Michael Schueller concelebrating. Burial will follow in Mount Olivet Cemetery in Key West, Iowa.
Helen was born March 24, 1916 in Dubuque, Iowa, daughter of William and Mary (Sullivan) Holmberg. She attended St. Raphael's Cathedral Grade School, St. Joseph's Academy and graduated from Clarke College on June 3, 1937. She taught high school in public schools in Cascade and Winthrop, Iowa, and in Elizabeth, Illinois, and in Catholic Schools at the Benedictine Mount Marty High School and College, Yankton, South Dakota, and the BVM Holy Angels Academy in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She worked on the staff of the Witness, the Dubuque Archdiocesan newspaper from 1947 to 1956.
On April 28, 1956 she was united in marriage to Eugene Francis Willis at St. Raphael's Cathedral in Dubuque, at which time she moved to Farley were Gene lived and practiced law.
Helen loved working with young people. She was a playground director in Dubuque for four summers, a Girl Scout Leader in Dubuque a counselor at Camp Pesquasawasis in Maine and taught CCD for Special Education classes in Farley for several years. She also tutored students in her home.
Helen was a free-lance writer over the years. For two years she wrote a weekly column "Round the Mulberry Bush" for the Cascade Pioneer. In later years, she was a frequent contributor to the Witness.
She was a member of St. Joseph's Parish in Farley and a member of its Altar and Rosary Society.
She is survived by two sisters, Rita Holmberg of Dubuque, IA and Mary Walsh of Connecticut, numerous nieces and nephews; two of Eugene's nieces, (daughters of his late brother, Michael, whom Helen and Eugene brought from Ireland and who resided with them for 10 years), Pat Willis (Martin) Glennon of Rockford, IL, and Phyllis Willis (Ron) Fortmann of Dyersville, IA, and many, many friends.
She is preceded in death by her husband, Eugene Willis on April 28, 1976; her parents, William and Mary Holmberg; her three brothers, Reverend Loras, Bill and John Willis; one brother-in-law, Noel Walsh.
Memorials may be given in Helen's name to St. Joseph Church in Farley, Iowa or to Divine Word Seminary in Epworth, Iowa.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.reifffuneralhomeinc.com