Helen Irene Dersch

Helen Dersch, of Okemos, Michigan, passed away peacefully, surrounded by love with family by her side on 10/25/2025, at the age of 83. Born 10/17/1942 in Iowa City, Iowa to Dr. Emory D. and Irene Warner, she graduated from Iowa City High School and flourished in her academic pursuits. She attended Stephens College where she studied textiles and fashion and won awards for children’s and adult clothing designs. She also completed a BS in Secondary Education and Vocational Home Economics from Iowa State University, an MS in Home Economics-Textiles/Clothing from Cornell University, where she met her husband, Eckhart Dersch. They settled in Lansing and have lived in the area since1968. She completed an additional MS degree and subsequent Ph.D. at Michigan State University in Nutrition.

Helen dedicated her life to bettering the lives of others, with her focus on supporting health and healthy lifestyles. She worked as a nutritionist and registered dietician in community health settings across the full range of life, including as a pediatric dietician and in geriatric health venues, and additionally dedicated herself to the support of others by applying her expertise to Ingham County Probate Court by serving as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for several years. As she advanced her career, she was driven to guide and shape the budding clinicians entering the field, and served as adjunct faculty for several local colleges. As a visionary she worked to establish a balanced, holistic but realistic approach to healthy living. She became a certified personal trainer, Pilates and yoga instructor and started her own consulting business to provide personal nutrition and physical coaching as well as organizational nutrition planning, training and curriculum development.

She will be remembered for her bright smile, and her exuberance for life with an amazingly wide range of interests and a love for learning new things. She was an animal lover, with many fond stories of her childhood pets. She often spoke of her experiences with her father flying in a Piper Cub and hunting pheasant. She was a proud member of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). She loved to travel, having traveled across the US, but particularly she sought travel to climates warmer than Michigan with favorites of Hawaii, cruising on the Danube River, and Caribbean islands. She was classical music enthusiast and played multiple instruments, starting to play as a young girl and going on to play in the college orchestra She continued to share her gift for music throughout her life, playing the flute, piano and the organ both for her own enjoyment and in service to her church. Her love of music filled her home and became a cherished part of her family's life, as she nurtured that same passion in her children and grandchildren - encouraging and supporting their own musical journeys. She took immense pride in her family and being active in the lives of her grandchildren, her face lighting up with joy when talking about their activities and time together.

Helen is survived by her husband of 57 years, Eckhart Dersch; her sisters, Carmen Raffety and Carol (James) Mellon; sister-in-law, Marie (Larry) Holt; her children, Karl (Cheryl Wagner) Dersch, Mark (Christina) Dersch, Laurel (Jeff) Ciavarri, and Erik (Maria) Dersch; and 6 granddaughters, Trystyn, Rachel, Emily, Elizabeth, Gretchen and Rayla; and many cousins, nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Emory and Irene (nee Ketchum) Warner; brothers-in-law, Seymour Raffety, Dietrich Dersch and Reinald Dersch; and grandson, Derek Dersch.

Funeral services will be held, Saturday, December 6, 2025 at 1 pm at Faith Lutheran Church, 4515 Dobie Rd, Okemos, Michigan. Visitation from 11 am to 1 pm at church prior to the service.

Interment at Glendale Cemetery, Okemos, Michigan.

In lieu of flowers, the family invites you to honor Helen's memory by supporting causes that held special meaning to her, such as the Alzheimer's Association, CASA, DAR, or the Emory D Warner Research Fellowship at the University of Iowa.