Helen Joyce Gheer

Helen passed on in her sleep after a long, tough battle with Bulbar ALS.

Helen grew up working on a farm in Ava, Missouri with her parents, Raymond and Sylvia (Vogt) Freeman and two brothers very close in age, Jack Freeman and (Elmer) Roy Freeman.

After graduating from Southwest Missouri State in Springfield, Missouri she began teaching at Dogwood, a one-room schoolhouse grades K-12 where she was also the bus driver and not much older than some of the students. During this time she began seeing Harold after first turning him down for a date. But in 1958, she finally came around, married him and then moved to the Quad-Cities.

Helen spent four decades as an elementary school teacher for the Bettendorf School system and went on to enjoy nearly 30 years of retirement. She was always active in her church community. She enjoyed being a mentor for Mothers of Preschoolers and volunteering at Genesis East hospital. Helen was known as an amazing cook and her recipes will be cherished.

She is survived by her beloved husband of 68 years, Harold Lyndon Gheer, her sons David and Paul and daughter-in-law Michelle as well as many extended family members. She was preceded in death by her parents and brother Roy. There will be no formal service per her request. Memorials can be made to the University of Iowa ALS Clinic.