March 28, 2024

Helen Van Dyke

Feb. 6, 2015

Helen Van Dyke, longtime Newton resident, died Feb. 6, 2015.

Helen Janet Messenger was born Oct. 27, 1917, in Wellman, the first child of Orville Norton Messenger and Charlotte Emma Stochl. Her parents moved to Newton in 1920, where she attended Lincoln Elementary, and graduated from Newton Senior High School, Class of 1935.

On Oct. 3, 1935, Helen went on a first date with the man who became her husband and the love of her life, Gerald Keith Van Dyke, the son of Jacob Arie Van Dyke and Barbara De Reus of Kellogg. Helen and Jerry were married the exact same date four years later and settled into life in Newton. With the advent of WWII and Jerry’s entry into the Navy, Helen followed him to Pasco, Wash., then on to Chula Vista, Calif. She lived there until becoming pregnant with the first of their three children.

After the war Helen and Jerry lived in Newton till Jerry’s job took them to Boone and Fort Dodge, then to Green Bay, Wisconsin and ultimately to North Carolina, where Jerry died unexpectedly in 1956.

After her husband’s death, Helen brought her children back home to Newton. She was a loving mother and an engaged parent who joined PTA and was also a Cub Scout den mother. At home she was a wonderful baker, who made everything “from scratch.”  She also became an avid gardener with an enviable perennial border and a large vegetable garden that included one heck of an asparagus patch.

After her children left home, Helen traveled widely. Initially, she attended a couple of U.S. Elderhostel tours. Over the years she made multiple trips to Europe, even visiting the USSR with Friendship Force in 1983. She also took an Alaskan cruise and visited Australia and New Zealand. Her last overseas trip was to Provence in 2005, when she was 88. Here at home, she enjoyed multiple vacations in Maine and northern Minnesota and in August of 2014, she went to Michigan and Wisconsin.

Another hobby developed when Helen became curious about her family history. She researched it for more than 20 years and was able to prove new ancestral lines that granted her membership in the DAR and the Mayflower Society.

In the role of older sister Helen enjoyed close relationships with all her siblings. With her sister she began making handmade miniature books. Beginning in 1976, that interest turned into a passion for collecting. Over time she amassed a collection of 2,000 books, which she donated to Central College in 1996. She also kept in close contact with both brothers and began following professional golf as a way of supporting their connection. 
Helen was a 37-year employee of Skiff Medical Center in health information management where she was medical records director for 20 years. She was a longtime member of Chapter ME PEO, Skiff Medical Center Auxiliary, Jasper County Historical Society and Friends of Newton Public Library.

She will truly be missed by her son and daughter-in-law, Bill Van Dyke and Susan Bridges of Baltimore, Md.; two daughters, Janet Savin of Ceilhes, France and Gayle Van Dyke of Saint Louis, Mo.; two granddaughters, Julia Van Dyke of Boston and Emily Van Dyke of Denver; two sisters-in-law, Myrtle Van Dyke of Johnston, and Louise Messenger of St. Augustine, Fla.; good friend Abigail Twombly of Olympia, Wash.; many nieces and nephews; and all her Park Centre neighbors and friends.

She was preceded in death by her husband; her parents; a sister, Charlotte Smith; and two brothers, Maurie Messenger and Cy Messenger.

A celebration of Helen’s life will be at a future date.

Memorials may be made to Newton Public Library or Skiff Hospice.