Helen J Griffith

Helen was born November 1, 1932, in Lake Preston, SD, the daughter of Oscar and Winnie Stangland. She graduated from Arlington, SD High School in 1950 and completed nursing school at Sioux Valley Hospital in Sioux Falls, SD in 1953.

Helen was a surgical nurse in Sioux Falls. After staying home to raise her family, she returned to nursing in the 1970’s as the head nurse for a urologist in Topeka, KS. She retired from nursing in 1981.

Helen married William James “Jim” Griffith on August 30, 1953, in Arlington, SD. They had been married 67 years. Jim preceded her in death on June 19, 2020. Survivors include her son & daughter-in-law, Scott & Sandy Griffith of Horseshoe Bay, TX; daughter and son-in-law, Lori & Bill Weber of Shenandoah, TX; daughter & son-in-law, Lisa & Chris Webre of Houston, TX; eight Grandchildren; eight Great-Grandchildren; her brother and sister-in-law, Wallace & Marlene Stangland.

Helen was a beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, aunt, cousin and friend to many. Helen traveled the United States and world extensively, visiting many countries in South America, Europe and Scandinavia. Although her favorite foreign place to visit was London, England, one of her most memorable trips was to Norway where she and Jim explored her Norwegian heritage.

After raising her family in South Dakota and Kansas, Helen and Jim moved to Texas when Jim’s employer relocated to Irvine, TX. Shortly thereafter, Jim retired, and they moved to Horseshoe Bay in 1985 where Helen and Jim quickly began making lifelong friends with whom they “Lived Life” in the wonderful resort community of Horseshoe Bay. Golf was relatively new for Helen, but she embraced the game and though she could be competitive, she truly enjoyed being on the golf course in the 9-Holers group with her close friends. In addition to their regular golf games at Horseshoe Bay, with their closest friends, Helen and Jim frequently went on golf trips to various courses in Texas as well as to Alabama, New Mexico and Arizona.

Helen was an avid and skilled bridge player. She played regular and duplicate bridge with her lady friends. She and Jim also played couples’ bridge.

One of Helen and Jim’s favorite activities was organizing and hosting parties with 5 or 6 other couples. A theme and venue would be chosen and then each couple would invite several other couples to attend. There could be 200 or more people attending their parties. The fun thing about these parties is that there were other host couples who would do the same thing where Helen and Jim would be guests at their parties.

Helen and Jim truly loved family and they cherished those times when family came to visit them in Horseshoe Bay. It might be a big holiday gathering with the whole family or as simple as a grandchild visiting on their own for a few days.

Helen was a regular attending member of The Church at Horseshoe Bay and sang Alto with their church choir for more than 30 years. Her Christian faith and love for music was strong and an important part of her life.

Helen was preceded in death by her parents and sister, Muriel Tiffany.

Funeral services will be held at The Church at Horseshoe Bay at a future date to be determined followed by an interment at the Horseshoe Bay Mausoleum.

Contributions may be made in Helen’s memory to The Church at Horseshoe Bay, P.O. Box 8295, Horseshoe Bay, TX 78657; Hill Country Humane Society, 9150 RM 1431 W. Buchanan Dam, TX 78609 or to the charity of your choice.