Helen Mae Edwards
Helen Mae Edwards
Our sweet and loving mother, Helen Mae Edwards, went to
be with Jesus on Christmas night, December 25th, 2011. Born in
Payette
,
Idaho
April 11, 1922, Helen was the second of 5 children born to Arthur Wayne and Margaret
Maurine DeWalt. Helen grew up on
Harris
Creek
in Horseshoe Bend
and loved to reminisce about those times and visit with childhood friends.
Helen's eyes crossed unexpectedly as a teen but she never
let this get her down, despite the teasing she endured. In fact, she often joked
that people would say "There's the girl who looks one way and walks the
other." It seems amazing that a
Doctor from the Mayo clinic came to
Idaho
and was able to straighten her eyes and no one could tell that they had been
crossed for 8 years. In her early 20s,
Helen worked various jobs, includi
ng in
the kitchen at Anderson Ranch Dam. But it was while staying with her
grandparents in Stibnite and working at the local Rec Hall that she met the
love of her life, Owen C. Wilkerson. They were married in February 1948,
although Helen and Owen lovingly debated for years about whether they were
married on the 13th or 14th. Either way, they spent 32 wonderful years together
raising 4 amazing kids.
Owen's job in construction took him all over
Idaho
,
Oregon
, and
Washington
. All the
while, Helen stayed home and took care of the kids. She had the amazing ability
to move into a shack and quickly transform it into a warm and loving home.
She must have enjoyed this as she and Owen moved at least
28 times in the 32 years they were married.
In
1958, against Helen's better judgment, she and Owen packed up three kids and
made the long trek to
Alaska
via the dirt
roads of the
Alcan Highway
. While in
Alaska
, Helen got to
experience life in remote areas, and even learned how to cook moose and
caribou. She also survived the infamous Alaskan earthquake of 1964 and made
many livelong friends. But it was the birth of their fourth child, Kim, that
was the greatest and most pleasant surprise during their time in Alaska. In
1966, Owen and Helen returned home to
Idaho
,
built a new home on the Emmett bench, and continued to enjoy their life
together, regularly returning to
Alaska
for work. In 1980, Owen passed away and Helen was devastated. Several years
later, she renewed an old acquaintance with a family friend, George Edwards.
They were married in 1988. Helen and George lived in
Oregon
until 1994, at which time they moved
to Emmett and continued their
23 years of loving
companionship.
They did some traveling but mostly
loved puttering around home and visiting with family and friends. Helen always
had the coffeepot on and usually had some kind of dessert to offer anyone who
stopped by.
Helen is survived by her loving husband, George, her
children, Edwin L. Wilkerson (Jo Lynn), Donald D. Wilkerson (Diana), Kathleene
Z. Pook, all of Emmett, and Kim M. Wilkerson (Joe Petzak,) Boise, her 6
grandchildren, Robert Pook, Melissa Wilkerson, Jeff Wilkerson, Rebecca (Pook)
Kaiser, David Wilkerson and Denise (Wilkerson) Deuel. Helen felt very blessed
to have had 16 great grandchildren. Also surviving are her sisters, Dorothy
Raynor, Middleton and Pat Crew,
Mesa
,
AZ
, as well as many nieces and
nephews. Preceding her in death were her parents, Wayne and Maurine DeWalt,
husband, Owen C. Wilkerson, son-in-law, Robert H. Pook, brother, Wayne A.
DeWalt, and sister, Betty Perkins. Graveside services will be held at the
Emmett
Cemetery
at 2 PM, Friday, December 30th, 2011. In lieu of flowers the family suggests
memorials be sent to Mountain States Tumor Institute (MSTI),
Boise
,
Idaho
,
or your favorite charity.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Helen Mae Edwards, please visit our flower store.
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