Helen S. Guckenheimer, 65 of Overland Park, Kan., died Tuesday, Jan. 4.
Funeral services were to be held Thursday, Jan. 6, at Congregation Beth Torah, with burial at Kehilath Israel Blue Ridge Cemetery. The family suggests contributions to the Guckenheimer Family Fund at the Jewish Community Foundation, 5801 W. 115th St., Suite 104, Overland Park, KS 66211.
Helen was born to Louis and Dora Fox on March 9, 1945, in Washington, D.C. Her parents and a daughter preceded her in death. She is survived by her husband, Daniel Guckenheimer; daughters, Debra Guckenheimer, and her partner, Noam Perry, of Brunswick, Maine, Julie and her husband, Ronen Kadosh, and grandchildren, Marcelle and Brody Kadosh, all of Overland Park; and her sister, Irene Goodman, of Overland Park.
Helen came to Kansas City as a young girl and graduated from Shawnee Mission East High School. She met her husband in Houston while they were in college.
Helen was a member and chairwoman of the board of education and member of the board of directors of Kehilath Israel Synagogue, Hadassah and Women’s American ORT. She also was a member of Congregation Beth Torah, AIPAC, Toastmasters International, National Institute of Professional Bookkeepers, American Business Women’s Association and the International Society of Poets. Some of her poetry was published in the National Library of Poetry. She received four awards for Outstanding Achievement in Poetry from the International Society of Poets.
Helen gave generously of her time for family and community. When both her parents and her husband’s father all had a stroke in one year, she gave up her social life to care for them and a sick aunt. She became like a daughter to her husband’s parents and his aunt who didn’t have daughters.
She also played a key role in her husband’s business. She was the “woman behind the man.” Like her mother, Helen was a homemaker and family secretary and bookkeeper. When her mother needed help she was right there to help. Like her mother, her name was included in Marquis’ Who’s Who in America when this honor was bestowed upon their husbands. To Helen, her greatest achievement was earning the respect of both sets of parents, who considered her a piece of gold. She leaves behind a legacy of quiet strengths and many loving memories.
Online guestbook at www.louismemorialchapel.com. Arr: The Louis Memorial Chapel, (816) 361-5211.