Helm, LaDonie Marie

LaDonie Marie Helm, 84, of Cedar Rapids, died Thursday, Dec. 2, 2010, at the Dennis and Donna Oldorf Hospice House of Mercy, Hiawatha. Celebration of Life: 10:30 a.m. Monday at Community of Christ Church by Brenda Mitchell and David Loy. Interment: Cedar Memorial Park Cemetery. A visitation will be held Sunday from 5 to 8 p.m. at Cedar Memorial Park Funeral Home and one hour before the service at the church.

Survivors include her children, Jeanne (Allen) Baker and Russell Reinhold, both of Cedar Rapids, Richard Reinhold of Apache Junction, Ariz., and Randy (Lynn) Reinhold of Iowa City; a stepdaughter, Shirlee Coy of Meeker, Colo.; 14 grandchildren; and 28 great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Howard Francis Helm; parents, Vern and Patricia Walker; and grandparents, Wilbur and Donie Tharp.

LaDonie was born Nov. 17, 1926, in Sapulpa, Okla., to Vern and Patricia Walker. After age two she was raised by her grandparents. She married Richard Harry Reinhold on May 13, 1948, in Tulsa, Okla. They were later divorced. She married Howard Francis Helm on Dec. 31, 1977, in Las Vegas, Nev. He died in 2009. LaDonie was in the cadet nursing program where she received her RN license. She was a registered nurse at St. Luke's Hospital and a nursing instructor at Kirkwood Community College. LaDonie was the executive director of Professional Medical Coverage, an in-home nursing service, for two years before her retirement in 1979.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks memorial contributions be made to the Dennis and Donna Oldorf Hospice House of Mercy, 315 18th Ave., Hiawatha, IA 52233.

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