|
Home
Memorial Service Pending for Eleanor Helwig
BATAVIA, IL (May 16, 2006) - A memorial service is pending for Eleanor
(Goethe) Helwig, 75, who died Monday at Delnor Hospital in Batavia.
Eleanor and her husband, Stan, lived at The Holmstad in Batavia,
operated by Covenant Retirement Communities as part of the Evangelical
Covenant Church (ECC). They were married October 20, 1951.
She was born April 20, 1931, and raised in Galesburg, Illinois, where
she attended the local Covenant church. "Eleanor has been a lifelong
Covenanter, important in the ministry of her local church wherever she
has lived," says Dr. Arthur A.R. Nelson, who has known her since she was
10 years old. Nelson serves as chair of the Board of Trustees for North
Park University. "She and the entire family have invested heart and
soul, as well as their resources, to North Park over several decades,"
says Nelson, who notes that Eleanor, Stan, and all four children and two
grandchildren graduated from the university.
Stan, who currently serves on the North Park Board of Trustees, has
served in that role for a number of terms and has been involved with the
school in many ways over the years. "Even though Eleanor wasn't as
public, she was always right there with him," says family friend Laura
McConnaughay. "She was as much involved as he was."
"Eleanor Helwig was a good and faithful servant of her Lord and of her
church," says ECC President Glenn Palmberg of her life. "She and Stan
have not only contributed generously of their own time and God-given
gifts, but they also raised their family in that same tradition of faith
and personal involvement. Their support for and involvement with North
Park University has been especially important to the life of the
Covenant church. My prayers and those of people across the Covenant are
with Stan and their family at this time."
The Helwig Recreation Center, currently under construction at the
university and scheduled for completion this fall, is named for the
family. The new facility includes the latest in training equipment,
batting cages, a two-lane running track, volleyball courts and a
practice area for the football team. The university expects the modern
athletic facility to help attract new students as well as scholar athletes.
The entire Helwig family has been involved in athletics, says
McConnaughay. "Growing up near St. Louis, Eleanor loved the Cardinals
and absolutely hated the Cubs," she says.
McConnaughay notes that although Helwig could not speak the day before
she died, when the doctor came into the room and informed her that the
Chicago team had lost, "she gave the thumbs up sign."
In addition to her husband, Helwig is survived by two brothers, Dave and
Tom; four children, Cindy, Ted, Jon, and Dave; and nine grandchildren.
More information will be published in this online Covenant News Service
report as it becomes available.
Copyright © 2008 The Evangelical Covenant Church. |
|
|
|
