Dhondt, Helen 1910-1986

DHONDT, AHRENS, YOUNG, COPELAND, GRAHAM

Posted By: Marilyn Holmes (email)
Date: 3/9/2012 at 08:47:37

The Grinnell (IA) Herald-Register; Dec. 29, 1986

INJURIES FATAL TO HELEN DHONDT

Helen Dhondt, 76, of 1103 Broad St., Grinnell, died Saturday, Dec. 27, at Grinnell General Hospital of injuries she sustained when struck by a pickup truck here on Dec. 24.

Police here said the accident occurred near the intersection of Sixth Ave. and Main St. Mrs. Dhondt was crossing Sixth Ave. when she was struck by a pickup driven by Gary Lee Foerster of Grinnell, who was eastbound in the outside lane of Sixth. No charges were filed.

Funeral services for Mrs. Dhondt will be conducted at *7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Smith Funeral Home, with the Rev. Daniel Ogata, retired pastor of the Grinnell First Presbyterian Church, officiating. Organist will be Alice Renaud, and vocalist will be Frank Shults. Burial will be in Hazelwood Cemetery. Mrs. Dhondt's request was that prayers be offered.

The daughter of Leslie and Katie Ahrens Young, she was born on April 15, 1910, in Rock Creek Township, Jasper County. She attended Rock Creek No. 5 School and later graduated from Grinnell High School in 1928. Following her education she worked in the office of Iowa Southern Utilities Co.

On Dec. 18, 1929, she was married to Johnnie T. Dhondt in Grinnell. The couple farmed in the Rock Creek area. Following the death of her husband in 1954, she moved to Grinnell and began her 30-year career as caterer at the Grinnell Country Club. She retired from that position in February 1986 and worked as resident receptionist at the Smith Funeral Home.

Mrs. Dhondt was a charter member of the Victor Grange, which she served as secretary for many years. She was a lifetime member of the Grinnell Country Club and a member of the Grinnell United Methodist Church. She had also been active in 4-H and Farm Bureau activities.

She is survived by one son, Garold Dhondt of Burlington, Colo., and two grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband; a twin sister, Hilda Young; two grandchildren; her stepfather, Aaron Copeland; one stepsister, Laura Belle Graham; and one stepbrother, Roy Copeland.

Transcriber Note: *must be an error by newspaper