She was born Aug. 13, 1932, in Kansas City, Mo., the daughter of Dr. Fred and Elizabeth (Haller) Schenck.
Helen married Adrian Farver June 8, 1957, in Burlingame, and they divorced in 1986. They have two daughters, Jane and Anne. On March 15, 1997, Helen married Eugene Taylor, who died in 2005. She married Floyd Smith May 22, 2010, and he preceded her in death in 2012.
Helen graduated with a degree from Kansas State Teacher’s College, now Emporia State University, in 1952. Her first year of college was at the University of Kansas, Lawrence, then later transferred to Emporia. She began her teaching career in Burlingame and continued in Topeka, Hutchison, and Amarillo, Texas, teaching both English and music.
After completing her master’s degree at Emporia State, Helen was one of the first Title I Reading teachers in Kansas, and she worked until her retirement from the Burlingame school district.
Helen also taught private piano lessons and was the volunteer organist at the Burlingame Federated Church for 30 years. She was a church organist for many weddings and funerals in the Osage County area as well. She loved music, teaching and children, not necessarily in that order.
She was a member of the Burlingame Federated Church, Life Bridge United Methodist Church in Kansas City, PEO Chapters in Osage and Johnson counties (charter member of Chapter IQ in Osage County), college sorority Sigma Kappa while at KU, and educational sorority Delta Kappa Gamma.
Helen was preceded in death by her parents, and her spouses, Eugene Taylor and Floyd Smith.
She is survived by her daughters, Jane Crampton (Mitch), Smithville, Mo., and Anne Lightcap (Robert), Shawnee; and her grandchildren, Ashley Cisetti (Steve), Overland Park, Bailey Crampton, Smithville, Mo, and Nicholas and Isaac Lightcap, Shawnee.
Funeral services will be 10 a.m. Friday, June 18, at Chapel Hill-Butler Funeral Home, 701 North 94th Street, Kansas City, followed by burial at 2:15 p.m. at Burlingame Cemetery, Burlingame. Visitation will be 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, June 17, at Chapel Hill-Butler Funeral Home.
Memorial contributions can be made to Burlingame Federated Church, 322 S. Topeka Ave., Burlingame, KS 66413 or Burlingame High School Scholarship Fund, c/o USD 454, 100 Bloomquist Dr. Suite A, Burlingame, KS 66413.
Condolences for the family can be left at DignityMemorial.com.
