Helen Rae Haas

Helen Rae Haas came into the world on July 20, 1936, and was the first born to Winfield and Justine Jeffers. She grew up on a ranch in Montana (not far from Custer Battlefield), and for the rest of her life if she heard the word "Montana" she would happily tell you a story about growing up there. At the age of three or four, Helen Rae was struck with polio and spent some months in a hospital away from home. She remembered celebrating one birthday there and going up and down the halls in a wheelchair. When she got home, she was disappointed because the baby chicks she had left behind no longer looked the same.

Polio meant that for the rest of her life her left arm didn't work and one leg was shorter. Helen Rae was not treated as having a handicap and she never saw herself that way. She grew up participating in all the normal activities of a country girl, including 4-H, school, helping in the garden, cooking, etc. She played the trumpet in high school and simply held it a different way. She adapted, lived, and made life better for everyone around her. She was forever practical, pleasant, and patient.

She had two brothers and when she was 11, she got a baby sister and then a second baby sister at age 14. She was beyond happy about that and said if she took care of us, she didn't have to do dishes. She was the best sister and friend anyone could have.

On June 10, 1961, Helen Rae married Elmer Haas and they both moved to Oregon and shared their life together until Elmer died in 2007. They adopted their son, Jeff, at birth, in 1969, and their daughter, Judy, at birth, three years later. Helen Rae loved her family without measure and she did everything in her power to help them. She continued to teach elementary school until she finally retired after 35 years of teaching. During those busy years, she always found time to help others and kept in touch with friends and family better than most people ever think of doing. In 1995, she and Elmer moved to Rose Villa and she enjoyed being there and benefited from the Rose Villa community to her final breath.

Helen Rae had rock-solid Christian faith that was central to who she was and everything she did. Her faith never wavered no matter what happened in her life. In fact, it got stronger. Her church family knew her as a strong and humble prayer warrior. She did not preach or pressure but demonstrated her faith in every word and deed and thought only of others and not of herself.

Helen Rae is survived by her son Jeff (Laura), her daughter Judy Donley (Kevin), two grandchildren (Grayson Lawson and Nick Hulett), and two great grandchildren (Kenna and Casey Hulett), brother Scott (Judy) Jeffers, sisters Theresa Thompson and Donna Bishop, sister-in-law Terry (Hale who is deceased), and many nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Thank you to the staff and managers at Madrona Grove (nursing home at Rose Villa), for the constant care and love you have given to Helen Rae for the past 22 months; you are amazing and you handle critical and difficult jobs with genuine love and grace. You have been a gift to her and to our family.

A memorial service will be held on April 22, 2023, at 2 p.m. at the Wichita Avenue Evangelical Church located at 9491 S.E. Wichita Avenue, Milwaukie, Oregon 97222. The family requests that any donations in her memory be made to her church or to the Rose Villa Foundation.