Obituary for Helen Jo Harter (Thiel)
Helen Jo (Thiel) Harter, age 99, passed away surrounded by family at Mount Vernon Place Care Center after a long illness.
She was born to John and Josephine (Peters) Thiel in Springfield, MO, the youngest of six children. She graduated from Willard High School, then Golden Rule business college. She worked as a bookkeeper for Citizens Bank and Greyhound. She traveled and enjoyed dances to big band music.
She married Edward J. Harter in 1949. They both worked for McDonnell Douglass in St. Louis before returning to purchase a farm near Bois D’Arc. Together with their seven children, they built and expanded the farm for over 50 years.
Helen was preceded in death by her husband Edward in 2002 and a daughter, Karen, in 2021. She is survived by Edward and Joan (Springfield), Diane Hill (Sarcoxie), Tom and Lori (Joplin), Mike and Mary, Dennis and Sandy, and John, all of Bois D’Arc. She is also survived by eighteen grandchildren and fifteen great grandchildren.
As a member of the “Greatest Generation”, Helen lived through the hardships of the Great Depression and World War II. She modeled the faith, work ethic, self-reliance, integrity, dedication, thriftiness and grit that distinguished so many of her generation. She was a “Mama Dove”, sacrificially dedicated to the protection and raising of her children, who never missed a meal and rarely missed church. She didn’t seek accolades, but shared recognition as Greene County farm family of the year in 1968, and as 1989 mother of the year by the Ash Grove Alumni Association, where she had children enrolled for twenty-six years.
Helen’s family wishes to express our gratitude to Gentiva Hospice and Mount Vernon Place Care Center for the excellent care Helen received in her final weeks. Despite her speech disability from dementia, they saw and loved the person inside and even succeeded in rekindling the wit of a much younger Helen. It was honoring to Helen, who always went the full measure to care for her loved ones, even in the most difficult times.
Visitation will be Thursday, February 16 at 10 a.m. at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Springfield, where Helen was baptized and married. A rosary service will be at 10:40 a.m., followed by funeral mass at 11 a.m. An interment service will be held at 1 p.m. at the Missouri Veterans Cemetery near Ozark.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions to the St. Joseph Church building fund, either directly to the church or through Herman Lohmeyer Funeral Home.
Permanent online condolences, stories and photos may be shared at www.hhlohmeyer.com.
She was born to John and Josephine (Peters) Thiel in Springfield, MO, the youngest of six children. She graduated from Willard High School, then Golden Rule business college. She worked as a bookkeeper for Citizens Bank and Greyhound. She traveled and enjoyed dances to big band music.
She married Edward J. Harter in 1949. They both worked for McDonnell Douglass in St. Louis before returning to purchase a farm near Bois D’Arc. Together with their seven children, they built and expanded the farm for over 50 years.
Helen was preceded in death by her husband Edward in 2002 and a daughter, Karen, in 2021. She is survived by Edward and Joan (Springfield), Diane Hill (Sarcoxie), Tom and Lori (Joplin), Mike and Mary, Dennis and Sandy, and John, all of Bois D’Arc. She is also survived by eighteen grandchildren and fifteen great grandchildren.
As a member of the “Greatest Generation”, Helen lived through the hardships of the Great Depression and World War II. She modeled the faith, work ethic, self-reliance, integrity, dedication, thriftiness and grit that distinguished so many of her generation. She was a “Mama Dove”, sacrificially dedicated to the protection and raising of her children, who never missed a meal and rarely missed church. She didn’t seek accolades, but shared recognition as Greene County farm family of the year in 1968, and as 1989 mother of the year by the Ash Grove Alumni Association, where she had children enrolled for twenty-six years.
Helen’s family wishes to express our gratitude to Gentiva Hospice and Mount Vernon Place Care Center for the excellent care Helen received in her final weeks. Despite her speech disability from dementia, they saw and loved the person inside and even succeeded in rekindling the wit of a much younger Helen. It was honoring to Helen, who always went the full measure to care for her loved ones, even in the most difficult times.
Visitation will be Thursday, February 16 at 10 a.m. at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Springfield, where Helen was baptized and married. A rosary service will be at 10:40 a.m., followed by funeral mass at 11 a.m. An interment service will be held at 1 p.m. at the Missouri Veterans Cemetery near Ozark.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions to the St. Joseph Church building fund, either directly to the church or through Herman Lohmeyer Funeral Home.
Permanent online condolences, stories and photos may be shared at www.hhlohmeyer.com.