Helen Mathews

Helen K. Mathews, 87, of Mt. Union, IA, passed away on Thursday, October 12, 2017, at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. According to Helen's wishes, her body has been cremated. Visitation will begin after 12 noon on Thursday, October 19, 2017, at Olson~Powell Memorial Chapel of Mt. Pleasant, IA, where the family will greet friends from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. that evening. A memorial service will be held at 10:30 a.m., on Friday, October 20, 2017, at Mt. Union United Methodist Church. Inurnment will be in Trinity Cemetery. Gifts of love and friendship may be given to Mt. Union United Methodist Church or Mt. Pleasant Community School District Foundation to be used for the learning disabilities program at Van Allen School. On-line condolences may be directed to www.olsonpowell.com. Born July 14, 1930, in rural Bonaparte, IA, Helen Kirk was the daughter of Thomas Martin "T.M." and Suzanna Poulter Phelps. She was a graduate of Bonaparte High School. On August 23, 1957, she married John Dewain Mathews in Hannibal, MO.Helen was a loving mother, grandmother, a steadfast farmer's wife and a devoted teacher for 42 years. She was nominated and then honored by being accepted to be a member of the highly regarded Delta Kappa Gamma Society, a community of distinguished women who are acknowledged for their excellence in education. She had two Master's Degree in Education, Learning Disabilities and Educational Reading and was considered a pioneer in the field of Learning Disabilities. Helen loved teaching and everything about it. She was recognized as being dedicated to helping elementary students in the Mt. Pleasant school system that faced learning challenges with their reading, math and writing. Helen had a very successful track record in working with the students in this intimate one-on-one environment and enjoyed being able to successfully return her students back to the regular classroom. She cherished the personal friendships that came from her teaching colleagues. As long as she was able, she would join her long-time teaching friends at Hy-Vee for breakfast on Friday mornings.She loved her flowers, particularly her roses and orchids. Helen was a Master Gardener and would share the fruits of her joys with so many. It was not uncommon for her to bring someone who was very sick an enormous potted catalaya orchid loaded with exquisite hand-sized blooms. When they would often tell her, "I'll never be able to keep this alive." She would simply reply, "You just enjoy it while it's blooming. I'll pick it up when it's finished so you don't have to worry about it." She was known for bringing pickup loads of sweet corn, tomatoes, cucumbers and strawberries to her teacher's breakfast and letting the friends take what they wanted. And from early spring time to late fall, there were always cut flowers in her kitchen and in classrooms at school. Her gardens on the Mathews' farm were even featured in the magazine called Farm and Ranch Living as "The Prettiest Place in the Country" in 2002. There was an autopsy that was conducted on Helen's remains because of the efforts the four medical disciplines from the University of Iowa (Gastrointestinal, Infection Control, Cardiology along with her Staff Medical team) were all involved with, in what was referred to as "new ground" in attempts to achieve a positive outcome. At her passing, it was asked if Helen's family would be open to doing an autopsy. The medical team felt by doing a thorough examination they could learn so much more about what they had attempted to do for her and could advance in their education as a medical teaching school. The family agreed, it would honor her passion and legacy for teaching and furthering educational techniques. So even in her death, her teaching will go on. Along with her loving husband, John, of sixty years, Helen is survived by a son, Jeff (Lennis) Mathews of Wauwatosa, WI; a daughter, Susie Mathews of Mt. Union, IA; a granddaughter, Jessica Mathews of Wauwatosa, WI; three brothers, Tom (Kumyea) Phelps of Mt. Pleasant, IA, Bill (Leore) Phelps of Paola, KS, and Dave (Lonna) Phelps of Mt. Pleasant, IA; and three sisters, Ruth Noren of Kansas City, MO, Lois (Leonard) Noll of Stockport, IA, and Mary Kongable of Winfield, IA. She is also survived by several nieces and nephews. Helen was preceded in death by a brother, John "Pete" Phelps; and a sister, Dorothy Miller. Cemetery Details Trinity Cemetery Mount Union, IA, Visitation OCT 19. 12:00 PM - 07:00 PM Olson-Powell Memorial Chapel 709 Mapleleaf Drive Mt Pleasant, IA, US, 52641 olsonpowell@lisco.com Family will be present OCT 19. 05:00 PM - 07:00 PM Olson-Powell Memorial Chapel 709 Mapleleaf Drive Mt Pleasant, IA, US, 52641 olsonpowell@lisco.com Memorial Service OCT 20. 10:30 AM Mt. Union United Methodist Church 108 South Roads Street Mt. Union, IA, US, 52644