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In Memory

Patricia Louise Poole (Helferich) - Class Of 1955 VIEW PROFILE

Patricia Louise Poole (Helferich)

PATRICIA L. (POOLE) HELFERICH

Patricia Louise Poole, 83, passed away peacefully November 5, 2021, due to metastasized lung cancer and COPD. She was born in Toledo, Ohio, on November 19, 1937, the day before her parents' first wedding anniversary. Her parents were Nelson Monroe Poole and Myrl Martha Rosser. When Pat was 2 1/2, her father was transferred to South Bend, IN. During Pat's high school years, she and her parents went to the YMCA on family nights to play table tennis, a pastime that often required tournament trips to Chicago.

She attended Muessel Junior High, followed by Central High School, whose basketball team won the Indiana state finals in 1953.

Pat remembered going to Indianapolis for the tournament and "screaming our heads off until we lost our voices." In high school, Pat belonged to the Handy Andy social and service club. The club ran a charity rummage sale to donate money to the less fortunate. They also held social events and parties.

Pat graduated from high school in 1955 and entered Purdue University in the fall of that year. During her time at the university, she worked in the histology lab at the hospital in South Bend, as well as the university's biological plant research department. Pat joined the Alpha Xi Delta sorority while at Purdue and moved into the sorority house, where young women learned social skills, as well as etiquette for formal dinners, suitable for well-rounded women in 1950's culture.

Shortly after earning her Bachelor of Science degree in bacteriology, Pat married Peter Helferich in June 1959. To celebrate, the couple embarked on a three-month European honeymoon, using her college French and his college Spanish to make their way across France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands, and England.

Pat joined the National Organization for Women (NOW) when a chapter started near her home in Lake Geneva, WI. She moved to Milwaukee in 1985, where she met her lifelong friend, Kristin, and became a social worker for Milwaukee County, working with children and the elderly. Pat retired in 2000 and relocated to Sun City in Georgetown, Texas, where she joined several groups and participated in various activities, including bridge, the Ticker Tape Tycoons Investment Club, tai chi, and spirituality study and discussion. Other interests included yoga, politics, movies, and socializing with friends.

Although she had some difficult times, Pat said that overall, she felt she lived a life of good fortune and was glad she had so many opportunities available to her. She said that her greatest achievement was raising four healthy, happy, successful human beings. To those who called her "Mom," including her daughter- and sons-in-law, she listened tirelessly to the tales of their lives, offering enlightened, wise perspective.

Pat is predeceased by her parents, Nelson Monroe Poole and Myrl Martha Rosser Poole; her son-in-law, Patrick Lees; and her grandson, Brandon Urban.

She is survived by her four children: Diana Urban (Paul), Andra Lees, Brant Helferich, and Dirk Helferich (Kelly); eight of her grandchildren: Ryan Urban, Jesse Urban, Jeran Urban, Anwyn Lees, Jeanette Helferich, Ryan Helferich, Nathan Helferich, and Paige Helferich; one great-grandchild due in early 2022; five cousins, Richard Butler, Sally McNeely (Rod), Robert Butler, Charlie Butler, and Jeanette Walker (Mike); and her niece Christy Viviano (Jim).

A Celebration of Life will be held at 10 a.m., Saturday, December 4 at Cook-Walden Davis Funeral Home, 2900 Williams Drive, Georgetown, TX, 78628. In lieu of flowers, donations to the following charities are appreciated: The American Lung Association, https://www.lung.org/, and The Caring Place, https://www.caringplacetx.org/.

Published by Cook-Walden Davis Funeral Home on Nov. 6, 2021.

01/27/2023 EJS



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