Helen was born in Springfield, Illinois to Edward and Dorothy Zink. Helen attended Blessed Sacrament Parish School in Springfield through 8th grade where she sang, danced and played basketball. She and her twin sister Mary were often asked to sing in events for the church and school. Helen attended Sacred Heart Academy, the all-girls Dominican high school in Springfield. After graduation she worked at St. John’s Sanitarium in Springfield, IL where she met her future husband, Jerome (Matt) Friederichs. They married in 1953. The family moved several times, living in Effingham and Mt. Vernon Illinois, Onalaska and Milwaukee Wisconsin, then Beaverton, Oregon, before finally settling in Bellevue, Washington where they were members of St. Madeline Sophie Parish for nearly 50 years. Helen spent her time sewing and doing countless needlework, quilting and knitting projects. She loved teddy bears and had a collection of almost 300 Santa Clauses that she gathered over the years. Helen's neighbors will remember how she and Matt always had a beautiful yard, neatly manicured and full of colorful flowers. Helen's children remember her for having a floor clean enough to eat off of, and everything in the house being very neat and tidy.
Helen passed away at her care home in Maple Valley Washington. She is survived by her four children Gerianne Johnson, John Friederichs, Pat Friederichs and Carol Olson; six grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren, who will miss her dearly. Helen was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, her twin sister Mary, her sister Rita and her brothers Ed and Jerry.
