Thursday, October 17th, 2013
Helen Urwin
Helen Doris Urwin, 86, of Cincinnati, formerly of Coldwater, passed away of natural causes in the company of her family at Vitas Hospice on Oct. 15, 2013, in Cincinnati.
She was born April 19, 1927, in Orion, Alberta, Canada, the eldest daughter of 10 children born to Richard and Minda Bakstad Rasmussen. In 1951, she married Arthur Urwin, who died in 2002.
Survivors include sons, Anthony (Susan) Urwin and Timothy (Rosalind Manifold) Urwin, Cincinnati; daughters, Nancy (Roberto) Urwin-Camara, San Antonio, Texas, Ann Urwin, Pittsburgh, Pa., and Sally Urwin, Oak Park, Ill.; brothers, Walter (Mary Rose) and Richard (Marion) Rasmussen, Canada; sisters, Ruth (Gordon) Evans, Canada, Gladys Stromsmoe, Canada, and Carole (George) Hendrickson, Ann Arbor, Mich.; seven grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
Deceased are brothers, Lloyd and Gordon Rasmussen; sisters, Violet Conquergood and Margaret Rasmussen; and a brother-in-law, Jerome Stromsmoe.
She was raised on the family farm and attended school in a one-room schoolhouse until moving to Medicine Hat, Alberta, to attend high school while working to provide her own room and board. In 1951, she married Arthur Urwin and they settled in Charles City, Iowa, where they became naturalized citizens and raised five children.
Before her retirement in Coldwater, she worked many years as a secretary in Edina, Minn., and a bank officer in Grayslake, Ill. She was an active member of the United Methodist Church, Coldwater, and of the United Protestant Church, Grayslake, in prior years. She will be remembered as a devoted wife, mother and grandmother and a loving friend to many. She enjoyed the last years of her life at the Evergreen Retirement Community, Cincinnati, where she volunteered her time, enjoyed cards and activities with friends and became an avid Reds baseball fan.
Funeral services are 10:30 a.m. Saturday at Coldwater United Methodist Church, the Rev. David Gordon officiating. Burial is at Mercer Memory Gardens, Celina.
Calling is 5-7 p.m. Friday and 9-10 a.m. Saturday at Hogenkamp Funeral Home, Coldwater.
Contributions may be made to the Coldwater United Methodist Church or the American Heart Association.
