Bertha N. Hellmer

Bertha “Bert” Nadine Hellmer, 85, of Oketo, Kan., passed away December 8, 2017 at Valley Baptist Medical Center in Harlingen, Tex. Visitation is Thursday, December 14, from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. at Kinsley Mortuary, Marysville. The family will receive friends from 5 to 7 p.m. Her funeral service will be at 1:30 p.m., Friday, December 15 at Immanuel (Stateline) Lutheran Church. Burial will follow at Stateline’s cemetery with Rev. Suzanne How officiating. Bert was born March 14, 1932, at Marietta, Kan., to Ernest and Clara (Adams) Young. She graduated from Barneston High School and attended Peru State College in Peru, Neb. On January 21, 1951, she married Gerold “Bill” Hellmer at St. John’s Lutheran Church, Barneston, Neb. They have two daughters, Laura and Annette, and two foster sons, Rick and Ron Brandt. Bert taught at several local country schools and also worked at Senek Swine Test Station. After retirement, she and Bill spent winters in Harlingen, Tex. Bert enjoyed the south Texas sunshine but always looked forward to spring in Kansas and putting in the garden. She planted and harvested enough for family, friends, the neighborhood and still had plenty for freezing and canning. Bert and Bill have enjoyed monitoring and caring for almost 100 blue bird houses and the blue bird trails the two have created. She was a member of Blue Birds Across Nebraska as well as an active member of Stateline Lutheran Church and also Stateline’s Women of the Church group. She was preceded in death by her parents; and sisters, Marilyn Brooks, Helen Schneider, and Ruth Rohmeyer. Survivors include her husband, Bill; daughters, Laura Quimby, Maumelle, Ark., Annette Carrico, The Colony, Tex.; brother, Robert Young, Oketo, Kan.; four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. In lieu of flowers a memorial fund has been established to the Oketo Community Museum. Contributions may be sent in care of Kinsley Mortuary. To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Bertha N. Hellmer, please visit our flower store.