Helen Long's Obituary
Helen Long, 100, long time resident of Wild Rose, passed away on April 19, 2007, during the last afternoon of her 100th year, while pausing in her favorite rocking chair as she awaited the visit of family members at Angelus Retirement Community in Waupaca. Helen was born on April 20, 1907, on a prairie farm in the Town of Oasis, Waushara County, the daughter of Henry Patten King and Frances Vondracek. She married Harlowe W. (Ted) Long on January 1, 1933, in Belvidere, IL. He preceded her in death on April 16, 1997. Helen moved with her parents to Wautoma in 1919, and graduated from Wautoma High School in 1926. She attended a one year course at Waushara County Normal School and received her teaching certificate. She taught at Spees School, a one room, 8 grade country school, in the Town of Deerfield 6 miles west of Wautoma, for one successful year, boarding with a family in the area, which resulted in a lifetime of pleasant memories of her students and the families of the district. When the 8 month school term ended in early May, she accepted a summer job at the Farmers State Bank in Wautoma, which quickly turned into a full time 12 month job. She worked at the bank through the National Bank Holiday in 1933, assisting the outside auditors as they audited the bank accounts. Helen’s next 10 years were devoted to homemaking and the births and early rearing of her two children, Theodore and Barbara, during part of which time she and her husband Ted lived in Waukesha County and Poy Sippi where he taught school. They moved to Wild Rose in 1941, and she returned to work at the reorganized Union State Bank at its Wild Rose branch office during World War II, continuing there until her retirement in 1967 as Assistant Cashier and Branch Manager. For many years until her death, Helen was a member of the Wild Rose Hospital Auxiliary, the Wild Rose Methodist Church, and the Wild Rose Historical Society where she served as a guide and program chair into her mid-90’s. She served as Treasurer and in many other voluntary positions for most of the voluntary organizations of Wild Rose for many years. She was a proud member of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), based upon the service of an ancestor who fought the British on April 19, 1775, as a member of a Massachusetts Minuteman Company, along the road between Concord and Lexington. Helen is survived by her two children, Ted (Betty) Long of Columbus, WI, and Barbara Rose of Minnetonka, MN; grandchildren Mark (Laurie) Ludwig of Minneapolis, MN, Patrick Ludwig of Indianapolis, IN, Kristine (Long) Snow of Waupun, WI, and Theodore Jr. (Kate) Long of Nevada, MO; and great-grandchildren Nicholas Ludwig, James Theodore Long, Elizabeth Long and Alaina Snow. In addition to her husband, she was preceded in death by her parents, seven brothers and three sisters. Visitation will be held at Wild Rose Methodist Church from 10:00 AM on Thursday, April 26, 2007, until the 11:00 AM services at the church. Holly Funeral Home of Waupaca/Wild Rose is assisting the family with arrangements. A memorial has been established for the Wild Rose Community Memorial Hospital.
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