Helen Marilyn Kuba

HELEN MARILYN KUBA Cedar Rapids Helen Marilyn Kuba, 80, died peacefully on Wednesday, March 7, 2018, in Sanford, Fla. Helen was born March 13, 1937, to Robert and Ruth (Goodrich) Fox. She graduated from McKinley High School in 1955, and started working at Northwestern Bell part-time in 1954 and continued after graduation. On June 14, 1958, Helen married her high school sweetheart, Edward Kuba Jr. They moved to Milwaukee, Wis., for Ed's schooling, and returned to Cedar Rapids for the birth of their first child. Helen became a member of St. Ludmila Catholic Church before their marriage, and quickly joined St. Joan's Circle. She became a Red Cross water safety instructor and taught for 25 years. In 1976, they moved to Alexandria, Minn., and Helen started working as a bookkeeper at the Alexandria newspaper. In 1990, she became the office manager of the Echo Press and Lakeland Shopper until her retirement in 2000. While in Alexandria, she was on the United Way board, was a member of the Leftover Ladies, and was actively involved with St. Mary's Catholic Church. Helen helped get Elder Network started in Alexandria. Helen and Ed started the next chapter of their lives together by purchasing a Winnebago RV and traveled the country full-time. They managed to visit all 50 states! Together, they volunteered at Camp Berachah in the state of Washington for four summers. Helen loved working with the hippotherapy horses, particularly the horse Blitzen. In May of 2015, their traveling abruptly stopped when their RV was hit by a tornado while they were inside in Oklahoma City, Okla. After the recovery from the tornado, they spent winters in Osteen, Fla., and summers in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Helen is survived by her husband of nearly 60 years, Edward; her daughters, Susan (Randy) Kuba-Tresnak and Mary (Michael) Trojan; grandchildren, Tara (fiance Richard) Kuba, Seth (Nicole) Kuba, Tayler (fiance Wes) Kuba, April (Todd) Sallee, Abby Tresnak, Ashley (James) Tresnak, Brittany (Lindsey) Kuba, Kelsey Kuba-Tresnak, Toni (Nate) Sherrets and Trey Carlson; 10 great-grandchildren; her sister, Shirley Hadad and brother, Terry (Becky) Fox; and several nieces and nephews. Helen was preceded in death by her parents, Robert and Ruth; son, Michael; grandson, Aaron; and sister, Lois. A funeral Mass will be at 11 a.m. Thursday, March 15, at St. Ludmila Catholic Church, Cedar Rapids, officiated by Fr. Kenneth Glaser. Visitation will be from 3 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Papich-Kuba Janeba Chapel West, 1604 "J" Street SW, where a vigil service will be held at 7 p.m. Memorial contributions may be given to the Sisters of Notre Dame, Omaha, Neb., and St. Ludmila Catholic Church. Online condolences may be left for the family at www.papich-kubafs.com.