Helene was born in North Platte, Nebraska and was the fifth of seven children born to George and Hulda Baumbach. The family moved to Cheyenne Wells, Colorado looking for a fresh start during difficult times. Eventually the family located to Denver, Colorado.
Helene graduated from Denver’s West High School in 1949. That is where she met Jack Hicks. They married on June 5, 1949 and had three children . The family lived at 1036 Perry Street between Helene’s parents and Helene’s brother Alvin and family. Helene and Jack and their three children moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado the summer of 1966 after Jack suffered a heart attack. They spent two years there but always wanted to return “home” to the Denver area. They moved back to Denver the summer of 1968. Sadly, Jack died on February 16, 1969 at the age of 39 leaving Helene a widow and single mother to their three children.
Helene began working as the school secretary at Emmaus Lutheran School where James and Joel attended. It was there Helene met a friend of a student’s family – Howard Grater. Gail remembers going on a 10-day anthropology field trip for school in late May 1971, returning to the hotel after being in the field without communication for a week and calling her mom. During that call, Helene informed Gail that she and Howard were getting married “as soon as possible”. Gail made her mom promise she would not do anything until Gail returned to Denver two days later. True to their word, Howard and Helene (forever known as H&H) married that summer on July 20, 1971. Howard had two children.
Howard, a teacher with Denver Public Schools and Helene, a U.S. government worker with the Office of Personnel Management retired early. They enjoyed spending time with their family, their golf outings, and travels. They were involved with their church – assisting with the Braille team for many years and recruiting others to assist with the project. Helene was very active with the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League (LWML) and it was during that time she was introduced to Bethesda Lutheran Communities a non-profit organization serving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The Auxiliary group is responsible for encouraging membership. One year, Helene was awarded a trip to Alaska for the annual Bethesda conference after recruiting the greatest number of memberships from her church. Helene assisted the fundraising efforts of the Auxiliary by staffing numerous craft fairs throughout the city. She was given the prestigious Cross and Bell Award in 2015.
Helene was preceded in death by her husband Howard and son Jim Hicks both in 2018.
Helene graduated from Denver’s West High School in 1949. That is where she met Jack Hicks. They married on June 5, 1949 and had three children . The family lived at 1036 Perry Street between Helene’s parents and Helene’s brother Alvin and family. Helene and Jack and their three children moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado the summer of 1966 after Jack suffered a heart attack. They spent two years there but always wanted to return “home” to the Denver area. They moved back to Denver the summer of 1968. Sadly, Jack died on February 16, 1969 at the age of 39 leaving Helene a widow and single mother to their three children.
Helene began working as the school secretary at Emmaus Lutheran School where James and Joel attended. It was there Helene met a friend of a student’s family – Howard Grater. Gail remembers going on a 10-day anthropology field trip for school in late May 1971, returning to the hotel after being in the field without communication for a week and calling her mom. During that call, Helene informed Gail that she and Howard were getting married “as soon as possible”. Gail made her mom promise she would not do anything until Gail returned to Denver two days later. True to their word, Howard and Helene (forever known as H&H) married that summer on July 20, 1971. Howard had two children.
Howard, a teacher with Denver Public Schools and Helene, a U.S. government worker with the Office of Personnel Management retired early. They enjoyed spending time with their family, their golf outings, and travels. They were involved with their church – assisting with the Braille team for many years and recruiting others to assist with the project. Helene was very active with the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League (LWML) and it was during that time she was introduced to Bethesda Lutheran Communities a non-profit organization serving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The Auxiliary group is responsible for encouraging membership. One year, Helene was awarded a trip to Alaska for the annual Bethesda conference after recruiting the greatest number of memberships from her church. Helene assisted the fundraising efforts of the Auxiliary by staffing numerous craft fairs throughout the city. She was given the prestigious Cross and Bell Award in 2015.
Helene was preceded in death by her husband Howard and son Jim Hicks both in 2018.
Helene was born in North Platte, Nebraska and was the fifth of seven children born to George and Hulda Baumbach. The family moved to Cheyenne Wells, Colorado looking for a fresh start during difficult times. Eventually the family located to Denver, Colorado.
Helene graduated from Denver’s West High School in 1949. That is where she met Jack Hicks. They married on June 5, 1949 and had three children . The family lived at 1036 Perry Street between Helene’s parents and Helene’s brother Alvin and family. Helene and Jack and their three children moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado the summer of 1966 after Jack suffered a heart attack. They spent two years there but always wanted to return “home” to the Denver area. They moved back to Denver the summer of 1968. Sadly, Jack died on February 16, 1969 at the age of 39 leaving Helene a widow and single mother to their three children.
Helene began working as the school secretary at Emmaus Lutheran School where James and Joel attended. It was there Helene met a friend of a student’s family – Howard Grater. Gail remembers going on a 10-day anthropology field trip for school in late May 1971, returning to the hotel after being in the field without communication for a week and calling her mom. During that call, Helene informed Gail that she and Howard were getting married “as soon as possible”. Gail made her mom promise she would not do anything until Gail returned to Denver two days later. True to their word, Howard and Helene (forever known as H&H) married that summer on July 20, 1971. Howard had two children.
Howard, a teacher with Denver Public Schools and Helene, a U.S. government worker with the Office of Personnel Management retired early. They enjoyed spending time with their family, their golf outings, and travels. They were involved with their church – assisting with the Braille team for many years and recruiting others to assist with the project. Helene was very active with the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League (LWML) and it was during that time she was introduced to Bethesda Lutheran Communities a non-profit organization serving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The Auxiliary group is responsible for encouraging membership. One year, Helene was awarded a trip to Alaska for the annual Bethesda conference after recruiting the greatest number of memberships from her church. Helene assisted the fundraising efforts of the Auxiliary by staffing numerous craft fairs throughout the city. She was given the prestigious Cross and Bell Award in 2015.
Helene was preceded in death by her husband Howard and son Jim Hicks both in 2018.
Helene graduated from Denver’s West High School in 1949. That is where she met Jack Hicks. They married on June 5, 1949 and had three children . The family lived at 1036 Perry Street between Helene’s parents and Helene’s brother Alvin and family. Helene and Jack and their three children moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado the summer of 1966 after Jack suffered a heart attack. They spent two years there but always wanted to return “home” to the Denver area. They moved back to Denver the summer of 1968. Sadly, Jack died on February 16, 1969 at the age of 39 leaving Helene a widow and single mother to their three children.
Helene began working as the school secretary at Emmaus Lutheran School where James and Joel attended. It was there Helene met a friend of a student’s family – Howard Grater. Gail remembers going on a 10-day anthropology field trip for school in late May 1971, returning to the hotel after being in the field without communication for a week and calling her mom. During that call, Helene informed Gail that she and Howard were getting married “as soon as possible”. Gail made her mom promise she would not do anything until Gail returned to Denver two days later. True to their word, Howard and Helene (forever known as H&H) married that summer on July 20, 1971. Howard had two children.
Howard, a teacher with Denver Public Schools and Helene, a U.S. government worker with the Office of Personnel Management retired early. They enjoyed spending time with their family, their golf outings, and travels. They were involved with their church – assisting with the Braille team for many years and recruiting others to assist with the project. Helene was very active with the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League (LWML) and it was during that time she was introduced to Bethesda Lutheran Communities a non-profit organization serving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The Auxiliary group is responsible for encouraging membership. One year, Helene was awarded a trip to Alaska for the annual Bethesda conference after recruiting the greatest number of memberships from her church. Helene assisted the fundraising efforts of the Auxiliary by staffing numerous craft fairs throughout the city. She was given the prestigious Cross and Bell Award in 2015.
Helene was preceded in death by her husband Howard and son Jim Hicks both in 2018.
Gravesite Details
Interred: Oct 20, 2020
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