Rold, Helen Estella (1923 – 2008)

ROLD, BAUER, BECKLUN, KOBOLD, MILLER, KOHLES

Posted By: Denise Wurner (email)
Date: 9/1/2013 at 15:36:57

Name of deceased: Helen Estella Rold (nee Kobold)

Aged: 84 yrs, 9 mo, 17 days

Residence: Elm Crest Retirement Community, Harlan, IA

Born: Dec. 18, 1923, Earling, IA

Died: Oct. 5, 2008, Elm Crest Retirement Community, Harlan, IA

Funeral services: Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2008, Pauley Jones Funeral Home, Harlan, IA; Rev. Bob Hoefler officiated. Inurnment was held at the Harlan Cemetery in Harlan, IA.

Survived by: Son, William Rold of New York, NY, sisters, Sally Bauer of Spencer, IN and Carol Becklun of Bellevue, NE; brother, Michael Kobold of Danville, CA; nieces and nephews; cousins; other relatives and many friends

Predeceased by: Parents, John and Sylvia (nee Kohles) Kobold; husband, Milford (deceased Oct. 25, 1996, Tucson, AZ); sister, Marietta Miller; brother, Jack Kobold

Education: attended St. Joseph School and graduated from Harlan (IA) High School.

Religious affiliation: no information provided

Military service: n/a

Marriage: Milford David Rold; June 1, 1949; Harlan, IA

Employment: In 1942, Helen left the farm for Washington, DC, where she worked for the War Production Board, which governed allocation of resources during the war. Although she did not know its purpose at the time, she recalled that everything requested for the Manhattan Project (making of the atom bomb) had "no-questions-asked" priority. After World War II, she went to Germany, where she was a civilian employee of the Allied Prosecution Force for the War Crimes Group in Dachau. While in Europe, she also toured France, Italy, Luxembourg, Holland, Czechoslovakia, and Austria. She saw the worst of which human behavior is capable, but she also sunbathed in the Riviera, skied in the Alps, attended the Vienna Opera, and danced to Glenn Miller at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City.

Helen returned to the United States in 1947 with a commendation from the Secretary of War for her service. She re-settled in Harlan and worked for the Harlan Newspapers. Helen was the food manager for St. Michael’s School and she worked in various executive secretarial positions for many years at Harlan Manufacturing Company, Fred Stamp CPA, Production Credit Association, and Western Engineering Company.

After they retired, Helen and Milford made their home in Tucson, AZ, for many years; Milford died there in 1996. Helen returned to her native Harlan in 2006, and became a resident of Elm Crest Retirement Community.

Hobbies/Interests: She was secretary-treasurer of the Shelby County Association for Retarded Children, and she was active in the Harlan Golf and Country Club and the Harlan Community Theater. Helen was an avid dancer, golfer, bridge player, wine maker, and quilt and needle worker. She was a stroke survivor for sixteen years.

Sources: ancestry.com; pauleyjones.com