HELEN MARGARET CROCKER EHMCKE (1913-2003)

CROCKER, EHMCKE, COBURN, MURPHY

Posted By: County Coordinator (email)
Date: 3/30/2020 at 19:51:00

Helen Margaret Crocker Ehmcke, 89, of Cleghorn died on Saturday, August 16, 2003 in Sioux City.

Funeral services will be Saturday August 23, 2003 at 10:30 am at Memorial Presbyterian Church in Cherokee. Visitation will be Thursday from 5 pm until 8 pm and on Friday from 9 am until 9 pm at the Boothby Funeral Home in Cherokee with famiy present from 6 pm until 8 pm Friday evening. Pilot Rock Chapter of the D.A.R. will have memorial services on Friday evening at 7 pm at the Boothby Funeral Home.

Born on October 22, 1913, Helen Margaret was the oldest of six children of Frank and Pearl (Coburn) Crocker. A lifelong resident of Cherokee County, she was raised in Tilden Township near Fielding, and often shared memories of time spent with her grandparents, G.F. and Mary Ann Coburn, who lived nearby. She graduated from Wilson High School in Cherokee and earned a teaching certificate from the Iowa Teachers College in Cedar Falls (now UNI). Helen taught full-time in the one-room schools at Afton #3 (Cherokee county) and Douglas #3 (Ida county) until her marriage. She continued as a substitute teacher in rural Cherokee and Correctionville through World War II.

On May 24, 1935 Helen married William Ehmcke in Alta and began farming with him in Tilden Township south of Marcus. In 1946, they purchased their farm in Liberty Township north of Cleghorn from Helen's close friends, the McKinneys. Helen continued to live there until she moved into Heartland Care Center in Marcus in May 2002.

Having children prohibited Helen from teaching in those days, but it launched her "second career" in youth work and community service. She led the Liberty Belles 4H club, organized radio contests about citizenship on KCHE, taught church school at Mr. Pleasant Presbyterian Church, promoted community historic and patriotic celebrations and was a faithful leader in Eastern Star, Tone Circle, D.A.R. and its youth organization C.A.R. She was a member of Cleghorn Presbyterian Church for over 50 years. Her passions were history, patriotism, genealogy and music. She worked tirelessly on family histories for everyone who asked for help, and co-authored a published genealogy for the Coburn family. For 20 years she directed a history and government education bus tour to Washington D.C. for area students. Then, with encouragement from Arrow Stage Lines, she helped pioneer the now popular day bus trips for senior citizens.

Above all, Helen was a loving and supportive mother and grandmother. She was a champion of education excellence, and from their early years on she encouraged all her children and grandchildren to earn at least a four year college degree. Helping each of her children and adult grandchildren reach or exceed this goal is her greatest legacy.

Survivors include her two sons and their wives, Paul & Faye Ehmcke of Paullina and Lance & Kathy Ehmcke of Sioux City; her daughter, Twila Ehmcke of New York City; seven grandchildren, Kelly Ehmcke and his wife Rachele of Valdosta, Georgia, Drs. Brenda and Jerry Murphy of Augusta, Georgia, Charles Ehmcke and his wife Amy Ann of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and Elizabeth, Abigail, David and Hannah Ehmcke, all of Sioux City; and four great grand children, Nicholas, Cassidy and Bethany Ehmcke children of Kelly and Rachele, and Madeline Murphy daughter of Brenda and Jerry.

In addition to her parents, Helen was preceded in death by her husband, an infant son John, and a brother Charles.

The family requests that memorials be given to the Pilot Rock Chapter of the D.A.R. Scholarship Fund.