Obituaries for June 28, 2010

Helen Hindman

Iowa City, Iowa — Helen Amanda Andrus Hindman, 91, died June 24, 2010, after a stroke a few weeks earlier.

Her memorial service will be later at the Oaknoll Retirement Residence. Burial will be at Baker City.

Helen was born on Sept. 9, 1918, at Madras to Hiram Phipps Andrus and Hulda Marie Arensmeier DeShazer Andrus. The youngest of five children in the household, Helen grew up experiencing the joys and hardships of farm life during the Depression.

After her high school graduation, Helen worked as a secretary in several different offices at Madras and Portland until she gained admission to Seattle Pacific College, graduating in 1946.

Thereafter, she taught school at Medford and Prospect before moving to Springfield in 1952. There she taught English and social studies at Hamlin Junior High, and spent approximately the last 10 years of her career as a full-time student counselor.

Helen loved to see the world. In 1957-58 she took a year’s leave of absence to teach in the Army dependent school at Schweinfurt, Germany, and in 1960-61 she taught in the army dependent school at Kitzingen, Germany. At the end of the school year she traveled via Dutch freighter through the Mediterranean, the Suez Canal, across the Indian Ocean, visiting Genoa, Penang, Singapore, Bangkok, Hong Kong, and Japan.

She collected many artifacts and souvenirs from her time abroad and took great joy in sharing the stories behind them.

In 1967 Helen married Dale H. Hindman, a widower with a young son (Brad) whom she adopted, and a grown son (Richard). Dale and Helen retired in 1978 and moved from Eugene to Green Valley, Ariz., where they resided until 1993, when they moved to Ontario.

Helen and Dale had a wonderful marriage and, after Dale’s death in 1998, Helen moved to Iowa City to be closer to family.

Any description of Helen’s life would be incomplete without mentioning that she was a person with the deepest and most complete faith in Jesus Christ, her family said. This faith gave her a joyful and positive approach to life and a gentle, loving, and forgiving nature. She lived the “Golden Rule” and it is no exaggeration to say that anyone who ever met Helen found her to be one of the nicest people they ever knew, her family said.

Helen was a member of St. Marks Methodist Church at Iowa City.

The family extends its thanks and appreciation to the doctors and nurses at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and Helen’s many friends and caregivers at Oaknoll. 

Survivors include her son, Bradley (Joni) Hindman of Iowa City, and daughter-in-law, Mary Hindman of Eugene; grandchildren, Emily Hindman of Iowa City, Seth (Amanda) Hindman of Portland, and Beki Hueth; great-grandchildren, Chelsea and Paige Hueth and Riley and Ronan Hindman; and numerous nieces and nephews living in Oregon.

She was preceded in death by her husband; brothers and sisters, Jake, Glen, Julia and Ruth; and her husband’s son, Richard.

Online condolences and memories may be left for the family at www.lensingfuneral.com under obituaries.