Mrs. ROBERT J. (Helen M. Ihm) TIMMERMAN 1911-2003

WEBER, IHM, TIMMERMAN, SPRAGLIN, FALCON, PETERS, ROGERS, LANGE, DALSING

Posted By: Mary Durr (email)
Date: 11/26/2003 at 21:08:03

Helen M. Timmerman

Telegraph Herald - Oct 5, 2003  

Helen M. Timmerman, 92, of Stonehill Care Center, Dubuque, formerly of 1985 Carter Road, Dubuque, and Timmerman's Supper Club Apartment, East Dubuque, Ill., died of natural causes at 4 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 2, 2003, at the care center.

Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Monday at St. Joseph the Worker Catholic Church, Dubuque. Burial will be in Holy Ghost Cemetery, Dickeyville, Wis. Friends may call from 3 to 8 p.m. today at Behr Funeral Home, 1491 Main St., Dubuque, where there will be a parish wake service at 3:30 p.m.

She was born on May 17, 1911, in Lamar, Mo., daughter of Charles and Helena (Weber) Ihm. Helen was one of 13 children.

She joined the Black Franciscans Order in 1927, and taught school until illness ended her vocation in 1933.

Helen married Robert J. Timmerman on Nov. 26, 1936, at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Kieler, Wis.

In 1942, Helen and Bob opened up a bar in Happy Corners, Wis. The following year, they moved to the Chateau Supper Club, once located north on Highway 52. Wedding receptions serving chicken sandwiches or Helen's famous chicken became the vogue in Dubuque in the 1950s. In 1957, Bob and Helen leased the Circle in East Dubuque, offering fine dining and live music. In 1961, they built Timmerman's Supper Club in East Dubuque; their road up the cliff opened that hilltop area for development. They once served 915 customers on a Saturday night. Bob died in 1970, but Helen built Timmerman's Motor Inn in 1974. She retired in 1985, at the age of 74.

She was a member of St. Joseph the Worker Catholic Church.

Helen received awards from the National Restaurant Association and the Dubuque and Galena (Ill.) Chamber of Commerce.

Helen had a loving relationship with her seven grandchildren, 18 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren, and had a strong rapport with her employees and her customers.

KDUB-TV stated in 1984 that she was the "Belle of the Tri-States," and she was referred to by her son as "one of the most outstanding business women of the tri-state area." She was "liberated before liberation was in."

Surviving are a son, Robert C. (Mary) Timmerman, of Dubuque; seven grandchildren, Sheree (Dwayne) Spraglin, of Reseda, Calif., Michelle (William) Falcon, of Chandler, Ariz., Beth (Joe) Peters, of Marion, Iowa, Tim (Mary) Timmerman, of Novi, Mich., Pam (Glenn) Rogers, of Long Beach, Calif., Jeff (Cathi) Timmerman, of Lisbon, Iowa, and Jody Timmerman, of East Dubuque; 18 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren; a sister, Mrs. Ada (Arthur) Lange, of Dubuque; and many nieces and nephews.

She also was preceded in death by a son, Ronald Timmerman, in March 1984; seven brothers, Ernest, George, Joseph, Walter, Charles, Frank and Aloysius Ihm; and two sisters, Irene (Wilbert) Lange and Frieda (Cletus) Dalsing.

Memorials may be given to St. Joseph the Worker Catholic Church and to Stonehill Care Center in Dubuque.