Helen R Knowles

Memorial services will be held at 1:00 PM on Thursday, June 16, 2016 at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses, 2018 Highland Avenue in Abilene. James Paddock will be officiating.

Helen was born in Ranger, Texas, to Gene and Anne Bradbury, on July 18, 1919. She married Lee Knowles on January 15, 1949, in Hayward, California. Helen was best known for her generous, hard working, and hospitable personality. She made everyone she met feel special and welcome. She enjoyed spending time playing cards and working puzzles, her favorite partners being her grandchildren and their friends. She is fondly remembered as “Grandma Helen” by many, young and old. Helen was a legendary gardener, and her beautiful flowers will be a reminder of that talent and hard work every spring and summer for many years to come. But Helen’s most joyful and fulfilling occupation was her time spent as a Christian Evangelizer and teacher of the Bible. She was baptized in 1950 at age 31 as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, and was an active and beloved member of the congregation.

Helen was preceded in death by her parents; her husband Lee Knowles; her son Philip Jansen; her daughter Judy Jansen Matlack; and her granddaughter Nicole LaBrenz Paz.

Helen is survived by her son Van Jansen and his wife Becky; her daughter Gail LaBrenz and her husband Keith; grandchildren, Philip Jansen, Mark Jansen, Danielle Bennett, Simone Byrom, Joel Graves, Annalisa Godwin, Neil LaBrenz, Jaime Griffin and Alexis Fairweather; and great-grandchildren, Ava and Bryn Jansen, Gemma and Van Jansen, Fiona Bennett, Sarah, Bailey, Hayden and Amelia Graves, Kaden Paz and Madison and Mitchell LaBrenz. She is also survived by many, many friends and adopted grandchildren who loved “Grandma Helen”.

Helen’s family wishes to extend special thanks and love to our spiritual family who exhibited extraordinary love and care for Helen when the family needed them the most. The family also wishes to extend our sincere thanks to the special and kindhearted nurses and aides at Silver Spring Nursing Home, who took such good care of her during her last year of life.