Helen Whitlock Obituary
Helen May Whitlock passed away on February 9, 2017 surrounded by family, after a two-year battle with ALS. She was born on January 18, 1940 in Sterling, Nebraska to Arthur and Elsie (Parrish) Ollendorf. Helen grew up in Skamania County, Washington. She married Robert Wayne Whitlock in 1958. She was a mother to seven children.
She worked many years as a housekeeper in nursing homes and hospitals. Helen enjoyed gardening, reading, crossword puzzles and games, fishing, hiking, berry picking, canning preserves, shopping, going out to lunch, and spending time with family and friends. She loved cooking, and collecting cookbooks. Favorite memories include growing tomatoes, which included contests of who had the first, the largest, and the most tomatoes.
Helen frequently won. The only way her daughters won was to buy a plant with tomatoes already on it. Her house and porch were always filled with flowers. In retirement, she was active in community events at Salishan Housing in Tacoma. Helen is survived by her sisters Carolyn Mills of Alamogordo NM, and Bonnie House of Sparks NV; children: Kathleen Patricia Haworth (Peter), Robert Bryan Whitlock, Eva Lynn Kafton (Daniel), Ira Ray Whitlock, Raymond Mark Whitlock, Crystal Lynn Whitlock, and Trisha Ollendorf; grandchildren: Monique Renee Whitlock, Jennifer Sue Anne James, Heather Marie Kafton-Henderson (Chris), Kalina Marie Ben, Patrick Whitlock, Dennis Robert Kafton, Patricia Kay Pratt; and two great-grandchildren: Christopher Gordon Gillespie and Joshua Johnson Gillespie.
Helen was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, and her grandson Jeremy James. The Viewing is on Thursday, February 16, 2017 from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Tuell-McKee Funeral Home. The Memorial Service will be Friday, February 17, 2017 at 11:00 a.m., followed by a graveside service at Calvary Cemetery. Memorial donations may be made to the Evergreen Chapter of the American ALS Society.
