Helen Fay Green

Helen Fay Green, 107, of Grand Mound, Iowa, passed away peacefully on July 3, 2024, at Maggie’s House in DeWitt.

Funeral Mass will be held at 11:00 a.m. Tuesday, July 9, 2024, with visitation one hour prior, at Sts. Philip and James Catholic Church in Grand Mound. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.

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Helen Fay Green was born north of DeWitt, Iowa, on January 10, 1917, to Ferdinand and Bertha (Gluesing) Wilslef. Helen Fay lived a life that spanned a remarkable era. She was born before women had the right to vote in the United States and before America entered World War I. She lived through both the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918 and the COVID-19 pandemic of the 21st century. Helen Fay graduated from DeWitt High School in 1934, and pursued her interest in education by earning a teaching certificate from Mount St. Clare College. She taught at the one-room Spellissey School, where both she and her mother had attended in their youth. In 1940, Helen Fay married Robert Green and they began farming in the Delmar area. They then purchased a farm in rural Grand Mound where they raised their family. Robert preceded her in death in 1996. Helen Fay was a plant person who truly had a green thumb providing fresh food for the family from her large garden. Helen Fay was also deeply passionate about history and genealogy. Pre-Internet, she wrote to churches in Europe gathering information on family histories for at least ten different family trees. In 1995, at age 78, she obtained her first computer and continued with her research and correspondence, using the internet well into her centenarian years. She also collected and wrote local histories, contributing significantly to the preservation of her community's heritage.

As a long-time volunteer at the Central Community Historical Museum, Helen Fay helped document pioneer cemeteries in the county. She was especially proud that the farm where she raised her family was initially settled by the Dutton family, who were agents on the Underground Railroad. Helen Fay compiled and shared her research with the Iowa State Historical Society aiding in their writing of a book on Clinton County's involvement with the Underground Railroad. Helen Fay lived by the motto, "If you cannot say something nice about a person, best not to say anything at all." Her kindness, wisdom, and gentle spirit touched everyone she met.

Helen Fay is survived by her children Lois (Emmanuel) Guyon, Roberta (Mike) McNeil, Alan (Susan) Green, Marlan Green, and Lora (Jeff) Rathje; grandchildren, Michelle (Jeff), Shannon, Andrea (Chris), Sonya (Jason), Anton, and Alena; great-grandchildren, Hayden, Katy, Lauren, Tavin, Felix, Octavia, Bennett, Patrick, and Sophia.

She was preceded in death by her husband Robert, her parents, her granddaughter Mary, and great-grandson, Brandon.

Memorials may be made to the Referral Center or the Central Community Historical Society, both in DeWitt, Iowa.

Arrangements are in the care of Schultz Funeral Home, Grand Mound. Condolences may be expressed at www.schultzfuneralhomes.com

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