"I have so many great memories of Grandma. Here are just a few: I will always remember her presence on Christmas Eve. She would come over to our house and sleep on the sofa to keep guard of the Christmas tree. My sister and I would try to sneak out of our bedrooms in the extremely early morning hours to get a glimpse of the gifts that Santa had delivered. We would come crawling down the hallway on our hands and knees keeping as quite as possible and peer around the corner just enough to see if Santa had been there. Just as we thought we were in the clear, Grandma would howl out from the sofa, \"You two kids get back to bed!\" To this day I cannot figure out how she detected our stealthy moves! We were always excited to go to Grandma\'s house on the farm because she would let us pick any ONE soda pop from the entry way fridge. Then in the evening we would stay up and watch Dallas on TV with her. Grandma convinced me to stop biting my fingernails as a young boy by offering me $5. So surely as a child I wanted to take her up on the offer but then I asked her the crucial question, \"Grandma, what if I start biting them again?\" She promptly replied without hesitation, \"Then you owe me $5!\" Believe it or not it worked. My sister and I always had fun going and seeing Grandma in her trailer park when she lived in Florida during the winters. It was always a treat to see her and she spoiled her grand kids with the best of Grandmas. She would always let us have a few pieces of candy from her bowl of candy that she always had around. She would also let us ride her three wheel bicycle around the trailer park and would chaperone us to the pool on hot days. Grandma was an unforgettable lady, loved by many people. She was a strong, principled, loyal, loving, well meaning person. For all these fond memories and many more, I will cherish her forever."
In loving memory of
Helena Marie Zuehl
August 14, 1914 - August 4, 2010
BRITT - Helena M. Zuehl, 95, of Britt died Wednesday (August 4, 2010) at the Westview Care Center in Britt.
Funeral services will be held 10:30 A.M., Monday at the United Methodist Church in Britt with Rev. Robert Dodge officiating. Burial will be in Evergreen Cemetery.
Visitation will be held from 4 to 7 P.M., Sunday at the Cataldo Funeral Home in Britt and will continue one hour prior to services at the church.
Memorials may be directed to the Britt United Methodist Church.
Helena Marie Zuehl, the daughter of Chris and Adrena (Johnson) Austin, was born August 14, 1914 at Crystal Lake. She was baptized and confirmed at Upper Flat Evangelical Free Church. Helena attended and graduated from Crystal Lake High School. On June 2, 1932 she was married to LeRoy Zuehl in South Dakota. They farmed southwest of Britt all of their married life. After LeRoy passed away in 1977, she continued to live on the farm until moving to Summit House Retirement Community at Britt in 2005. In September of 2008 she became a resident of Westview Care Center.
She was a past member the Evangelical United Brethren Church at Stilson, where she belonged to Ladies Aid and taught Sunday School until the church closed. She then became a member of the United Methodist Church in Britt and was active in UMW, a sewing group and Bible class.
Helena is survived by her four children, Dennis Zuehl of Britt, Richard (Ruth) Zuehl of Ft. Lauderdale, FL, Patty (Roger) Smith of Perry and Karen Geddes of Las Vegas, NV; nine grandchildren; twenty-seven great grandchildren; six great-great grandchildren; and a sister, Laurane Logan of Excelsior Springs, MO.
She was preceded in death by her husband; parents; daughter-in-law, June Zuehl; son-in-law, Dean Geddes; grandsons, Mike Geddes, Steve Geddes, Brad Zuehl and Dan Smith; two sisters, Laura Austin and Alma Kirschbaum; and three brothers, Elmer, Everett and Paul Austin, who went down with his ship in 1942.
Tributes
"Your family is in our prayers. We all send our sympathy. "