Helen A. Padellford, of Story City and formerly of the Nevada and Maxwell areas, passed away in her sleep on Friday, August 12, 2016, at the age of 94 at Bethany Life Community in Story City.
Funeral services will be held 2:00 p.m. Wednesday, August 17, 2016, at Bethany Manor Chapel in Story City, with visitation one hour prior to services. Chaplain Sandy Anenson will officiate. Burial will follow in the Nevada Municipal Cemetery.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Ralph Padellford; her parents, Harley and Hester (McConnell) Minear of Maxwell; and her beloved brother, Theodore Minear, formerly of Maxwell.
She is survived by her son, Phillip of Reno, NV; daughters, Pamela (Duane) Hilleman of Eden Prairie, MN, and Patrice "Billie" (John Pitsenbarger) Israel of Melbourne, IA; and a sister-in-law, Kathleen Minear of Nevada, IA. Also surviving are 11 grandchildren, Tori (Robert) Welsh, Melanie (Adam) Huhta, Matthew (Natalie) Hilleman, Danielle (Dave) Perrigo, Tressa (Grant) Orthmeyer, Monte (Stephanie) Hilleman, Heath (Juanita) Israel, Trevor Padellford, Jessie (Casey) Betting, Bryce (Cat) Padellford, and Brendan (Cassandra) Padellford; and 14 great-grandchildren.
Helen grew up in Maxwell and moved to Nevada, Iowa, after her marriage to Ralph. They raised their family in Nevada and lived there and in Ames until the early seventies when they moved to Las Vegas. In 1998, Helen moved to Plymouth, MN, to be near family. In 2009, she made her home at Bethany Life Communities in Story City. Special thanks from the entire family to all the staff at Bethany Manor for their loving care of our Mom and Grandma.
Helen dedicated a lot of effort and time to Scouting for over a decade. She taught Sunday school, sang in the choir, and served in many types of church activities in several different denominations. She taught her family that you can worship and serve the Lord anywhere in many ways.
Helen worked all her life and had a variety of careers. She came out of retirement to work for the Las Vegas Convention Bureau, which she loved. She also enjoyed being a hairdresser in Nevada and an office manager at TWA in Las Vegas.
Helen loved the outdoors, camped a lot, gardened, collected rocks, fished, and explored wherever she could. She especially enjoyed working on family genealogy, was an accomplished seamstress, loved to play the organ, roller skate and bowl. She always wanted to try and learn new things. Oh yes, she loved to jet-ski. But most of all, her greatest reward came from doing things for others.
In closing, we know Mom would wish all of you a smile on your face, love in your heart, and peace by the grace of God. Amen.
Ryan Funeral Home of Nevada has been entrusted with the care of Helen and her family. Memorial contributions in Helen's name may be made to Bethany Life Foundation, Employee Appreciation Fund.
