M. Helen Hartin

M. Helen Hartin, age 94, of Williamsburg, passed away Monday, February 15, 2021 at Highland Ridge Care Center, Williamsburg. A private family Mass of Christian Burial will be held with Father David Wilkening officiating. Burial will be Calvary Cemetery, Marengo. Visitation: 5 to 7 p.m., Friday, February 19, 2021 at Kloster Funeral Home, Marengo. Memorials may be contributed to St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Williamsburg, or to Holden Comprehensive Care Cancer Center, in Iowa City.  Masks and social distancing are required at all services.

Helen is survived by her two daughters Patricia Hartin of Coralville and Rita (Dwain) Knock, of Tiffin; two grandchildren, Taresa (Brian) Fetzer, of Cedar Rapids and Jeffrey (Amy) Knock, of North Liberty; four great-grandchildren, Allison and Brynnley Fetzer and Desmond and Archer Knock; and two sisters, Mary Goldammer, of Marengo and Alice Heitman, of Williamsburg. She was preceded in death by her husband Thomas in 1998, her parents, Gordon and Blanche Tompkins, two sisters, Lois Wallace and Eleanor Dietrich Wyant, and a brother Edgar Tompkins.

M. Helen Tompkins, was born April 26, 1926, in Oakaton, South Dakota, the daughter of Gordon and Blanche (Bell) Tompkins. She graduated from Marengo High School in 1944. She was united in marriage to Thomas Hartin, Jr. on January 3, 1946 at St. Patrick’s Rectory, in Marengo. The couple made their home in rural Marengo. Helen was a homemaker and also farmed with her husband. She also worked at Amana Refrigeration in the office for a short time, before working at the Marengo Courthouse, mainly serving as Clerk of Court from 1963 until 1987. Helen and her husband then retired. She was a member of the Altar and Rosary and the Marengo Legion Auxillary. Helen enjoyed baking wedding and birthday cakes, and for other special occasions. She loved music and played the organ. Helen and her family were musically talented. In later years, she became an avid fan of college basketball, watching the Iowa Hawkeyes and the Kansas Jay Hawks.