Thomsen, Helen Josephine 1914-2014

THOMSEN, SCOFIELD, SLOWIE, TATE, VAUGHAN, SMITH, STUART, SAGER, RICHARDSON, HOULAHAN, LOERZEL, LINGLE, HOGREVE, GELTZ, ROBERTSON, NOLAN, SVENSON, PESCH, KRIDELBAUGH

Posted By: Ruth Maring - Volunteer
Date: 9/1/2014 at 18:21:45

Helen Josephine Thomsen, 99, of Clinton passed away peacefully, on Monday, August 18, 2014 at the Alverno Health Care Facility. A Mass will be celebrated at 11:00 A.M. on Friday, August 22, 2014 at Immaculate Conception Church, Fulton. Visitation will be from 4:00 to 8:00 P.M. Thursday at the Pape Funeral Home. Burial will be in Clinton Lawn Cemetery. Memorials can be made to the American Heart Association or to the St. Irenaeus Cultural Center. Online condolences can be left at www.papefh.com.

Helen was born in Lyons, Iowa on September 4, 1914, to William C. and Iva (Scofield) Slowie. She attended St. Irenaeus Parochial School and graduated from Our Lady of Angels Academy in 1930 at the age of 16 with an emphasis in Latin. She graduated with her teaching certificate from Mount St. Clare Female College in 1932. She began her teaching career at Heighton Hill School, north of Clinton, as a one room school teacher at the age of nineteen. She also taught at Cottonwood Corners in Whiteside County, IL and the North School (Elijah Buell location) in Clinton. She worked for the City of Clinton at the Clinton Swimming Pool in the summers when it was first opened.

Helen married Delbert H. Thomsen on October 5, 1946 at St. Irenaeus Catholic Church. Delbert passed away on October 19, 1995. Helen and Del ran Thomsen’s Tavern on Main Ave. from 1946 to 1983. Helen was a former member of St. Irenaeus Catholic Church and very proud that her family had been members since 1857. She was a current member of Immaculate Conception Church in Fulton. She loved spending time with her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. In her younger years she had gone duck hunting, pheasant hunting and fishing with her husband. She played tennis and loved games of any kind but especially poker, cribbage, rummy and bingo and loved to play the slots at the casino. In her eighties, she toured Ireland and Italy with her daughters. She and Del also traveled the country in their RV. Helen loved to entertain. She had taken great delight in the planning of her 100th birthday party.

Helen is survived by two children, twin daughters: Karen (James) Tate of Clinton and Sharon (Warren) Vaughan of Tulsa, OK; four grandchildren, Sandon (Dawn) Smith of Clinton, Kristin (Paul) Stuart of Spring, TX, Christopher Vaughan and Brendan Vaughan both of Tulsa, OK; four step-grandchildren, Lisa (Sherry Sager) Tate and Rebecca (Steven) Richardson both of Clinton, Scott Vaughan of Virginia Beach, VA and Katherine (Sean) Houlahan of Cedar Rapids; four great-grandchildren, Jordan and Austin Smith of Clinton, William and Colin Stuart of Spring, TX; eleven step-great grandchildren, Tyler, Alex and Owen Vaughan of Virginia Beach, Anthony and MacKenzie Harris of Weaubleau, MO, Shelby Tate, Bradley and Amber Richardson of Clinton and Emily Loerzel of Clinton, Jessica (Joshua) Lingle of Clinton and Aleshia (Matt) Hogreve of Indianapolis; two step great-great grandchildren, Rylan and Olivia Hogreve of Indianapolis. Also left to mourn her is her nephew, John William (Sheila) Geltz of Clinton; nieces, Kathleen (Jim) Robertson of Davenport, Linda (Clark) Nolan of Chicago and Marcia (Thomsen) Svenson of Camanche and numerous great nieces and great nephews.

Preceding her in death were her husband, Delbert, parents William and Iva Slowie, brother William “Bud” Slowie who was killed in the Battle of Luzon in 1944, her sisters; Edna Pesch and Bernice Geltz, an infant sister Bernadine and a cousin who was raised with her, Anna Scofield Kridelbaugh and one step grandson, John Tate.