Helen Kinghorn

Helen Louretta Kinghorn, age 102, of Centennial, CO quietly passed away on Monday morning, January 15, 2024, at Someren Glen, where she had called home for the past several years. Helen was born on December 17, 1921, the youngest daughter of Johann Mattheaus Ludwig Nurnberger (John Louis Nurnberg) and Anna Marie Bronner on the family farm at Saffordville, Chase, Kansas. Helen was married to Marshall Bruce (“Blackie”) Kinghorn on June 21, 1946. He passed away on March 1, 2012. Five children were born of that union.

Family was her focus in life. She was kind, generous and loving. Hers was a heart of gratitude for the little things in life that mean so much. She loved nature and the beautiful scenery this great country has to offer. She enjoyed crafting: sewing, crochet, embroidery, needlepoint and other arts until her vision began to fail. She was an amazing cake decorator and loved providing special themed cakes for family and friends, including several wedding cakes. She loved working puzzles. There was usually a table set up in her home with a puzzle in progress even when she could no longer see well enough to work on it.

Her life spanned over a hundred years of technological advancements. Helen remembered as a girl riding into town with her mother in a horse-drawn wagon to sell eggs. The family’s first automobile was purchased by her older sister, Leona, as was the family’s first radio. They didn’t have electricity so they hooked the radio up to the car so they could listen to their favorite radio programs. Years later, she was thrilled by man’s first steps on the moon and her own first experience flying. She much preferred traveling in their travel trailer, as she did with her husband, for many years, visiting family and friends all over the west and midwest. In later years she adapted and learned to use a computer for email and even played computer games.

She was preceded in death by her husband, her parents and her five siblings. She was survived by her children: son, Steven Linn Kinghorn of CO; son, James Allen Kinghorn of CO; daughter, Cheryl Ann Clawson of MO; son, Donald Bruce (Caroline) Kinghorn of WA; and daughter, Barbara June (Dan) Reeves of the USA ; 11 grandchildren; 15 great grandchildren; many nieces, nephews, and other extended family members.