Helen was born at the family farm in Allison, Iowa to Howard & Clara (Corwin) Stirling. Helen graduated from Allison-Bristow High School in 1961 and graduated from Hamilton Business College in Mason City, IA in 1963. She immediately started working for Mason City School District as a secretary while engaged to Sam Thielke, who she met while at Hamilton. They married on June 27, 1964 and moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa where she worked for the Cedar Rapids School District as a secretary until the birth of their daughter, Julie in 1967. After Julie’s birth, Helen was a stay-at-home mom and babysitter to many of the neighborhood children. In 1976, they welcomed their son, Brent just before starting another adventure. They moved to Grand Rapids, Minnesota, where they owned and operated a Pizza Hut franchise. Helen planned many memorable trips to Judd’s Resort in northern Minnesota, along with family trips to California, Florida, Smokey Mountains, Yellowstone & Arizona. In 1980, the family moved back to Marion, Iowa and Helen worked at P.E.S. as secretary to the President. Many memories were made at the family cabin on Lake Delhi. In 1985, family had an opportunity to relocate to the Southwest and moved to Mesa, Arizona. Helen immediately joined Aero Spring & Mfg. as executive secretary to the President and remained there until her retirement in 2010. Once she was retired, Helen enjoyed spending time with family & friends, traveling and cheering on her grandson, Sammy, & great-grandson, Brody, in all their activities. She loved planning their annual trip back to visit family & friends in Iowa and across the Midwest as well as all their other trips around the country. Helen loved escaping the heat of the valley in the summer by going up to the family cabin in Payson, AZ. Cruising with family & friends to Alaska, the Caribbean and Mexican Riviera were all very special trips; especially the family trip in 2014 to celebrate her & Sam’s 50th wedding anniversary. Helen shared her love of sports with all her family. She was always decked out in her favorite team’s shirt to cheer on her teams including Cardinals, Suns, Diamondbacks, University of Iowa & ASU; as well as all of Sammy’s teams over the years. She was the best Team Grandma for “Packey’s Packers”. Helen was a faithful member of Presbyterian Women at First Presbyterian Church of Mesa.
Helen was preceded in death by her parents, her brothers Kenny and Hal and her husband, Sam. She is survived by her daughter, Julie (Chris) Packey and son, Brent (Shannon) Thielke, her sister, Carol, her brother, Lyle, along with grandchildren Sammy, Christopher, Felicia Packey and Meisha Scott and great-grandsons Brody and Elijah.
Services for Helen are scheduled at 11am on Monday August 29th, 2022 at First Presbyterian Church of Mesa ( 161 N Mesa Dr. Mesa, AZ ). There will be a reception following the service.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.mariposagardens.com for the THIELKE family.
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