116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Obituaries
The Gazette publishes obituaries on a daily basis. Use the search field above to search for obituaries by name or keyword. Readers can submit an obituary or submit a milestone to The Gazette. The obituary must be submitted before 1 p.m. for publication on thegazette.com at 6 p.m. and in the daily edition the next day, with the exception of obituaries for Sunday publication, which must be submitted by 1 p.m. on Fridays.
Johnston, Helen Maxine
Helen Maxine Johnston died Sept. 16, 2010, at English Valley Care Center in North English at the age of 82 years, 6 months and 10 days.
Helen was born March 6, 1928, near Fremont, Iowa, the daughter of William Edgar and Zella (Isherwood) Handy. She graduated from Fremont High School in 1946. Helen married Allen LeRoy Johnston on April 21, 1947, at the Catholic Church in What Cheer. After farming for years south of Parnell, they moved to South English. In 1974, Helen started working at Amana Refrigeration, retiring in 1990. They enjoyed taking their camper to San Juan, Texas before Allen's death in October 1992. In 1996, she and Russell Daines became committed companions. They enjoyed 12 years together until his death in November 2007. They lived in San Juan and South English. They loved to play cards, camp, play bingo, garden and Helen loved to sew. In 2009, Kenneth Seaba became her committed companion. She often said she wished she could spend a good 10 years with him. They especially enjoyed playing cards and fishing together. Helen became a resident of the English Valley Care Center in North English in June 2010.
She is survived by a son, Max (Sandy) Johnston of Marengo; daughters, Betty (Stan) Seaba of Wellman and Dixie (Earl) Schlabach of Wichita, Kan.; eight grandchildren, Angie Gingrich, Alicia Miller, J.R. Seaba, Mary Lynn Olson, Gary Johnston, Sarah Johnston, Laura Aronis and Kyle Schlabach; and seven great-grandchildren.
Helen was preceded in death by her parents; an infant daughter, Mary Lea; her husband, Allen; brothers, Harold, Leslie and Kenneth Handy; sisters, Lucille Ward and Mary Watson; and former companion, Russell Daines.
A Celebration of Life service will be held at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 21, at Powell Funeral Home and Cremation Service in North English, with Chaplain Mary Beth Siemann officiating. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. at the funeral home on Monday. Burial will be in White Pigeon Cemetery near North English.
A memorial fund has been established for the North English Community Center or Iowa Hospice.
Messages and tributes may be left at under obituaries.
Daily Newsletters