Martha Jane Goertz Hellinger passed peacefully from this life to be with God while at home with her loving family on January 24, 2024. She had recently been diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor, and she was tenderly cared for by her husband, Beno, and family at her beloved home.
She was born October 19, 1940, to Charlie J. and Cecilia Supak Goertz in Austin, Texas. She was a graduate of St. Mary’s Academy and Nixon Clay Commercial College, both in Austin. She was a long-time member of St. Louis Catholic Church in Austin. Jane was very proud of her Czech and German heritage. She never missed a Goertz family reunion and hosted Hellinger ones, too. It was very evident that she and Beno put their faith and family first, being involved in the St. Louis Parish and School as well as McCallum High School for all of their ten children.
Jane touched many lives beyond her family in her 83 years. Hundreds of people in the Austin area have been blessed with her precisely decorated wedding and birthday cakes that were not only designed exactly how a person wanted but tasted delicious, too. She also baked that special bread pudding shared every Lent at the St. Louis Fish Fry. Her extensive cooking skills were shared at countless receptions for special events and funerals organized by her for the parish, especially for the Chrism Mass and CHRP retreats. Countless children enjoyed her special snacks at VBS. At St. Louis School, she was known as the Campbell Soup Label Lady for decades, providing a way for the school to get a myriad of supplies. She and Beno harvested vegetables from their garden that were eagerly anticipated by neighbors and friends. She was also an accomplished seamstress, making everything from tiny doll clothes to coats for her children to flags for the McCallum marching band. On the Fourth of July, she was often a well-deserved winner of the family’s annual ice cream crank-off, everyone knowing it would be tough to beat her creamy concoctions. She was especially proud of knitting a Christmas stocking for each grandchild that had a specific design and number of stripes correlating to the birth order of the grandchild. She even participated as a singer with the Happy Czech Singers. With all this activity, she still had time for her love of building puzzles with family and scoping out garage sales and thrift stores for a treasure that would “follow her home.”
She was a natural leader and served as officer in many organizations including the Travis County Pecan Growers Auxiliary, St. Louis Women's Club, St. Louis Home and School Association, and the KJZT. She was also an active member of the St. Louis KC Ladies Auxiliary, Bereavement Ministry, and the Diocesan Council of Catholic Women. If she could join an organization that gave her the opportunity to serve, she would not just join but she would embrace every opportunity to utilize her talents to serve.
Despite all her endeavors, she was never too busy to lend a listening and supportive ear to a friend or family member. We will all miss her spirit of generosity and hope that we honor her legacy by following her example well.
Jane is survived by her husband of 59 years, Beno A. Hellinger, and their ten children, starting with the oldest on down: Diane (Titus) Ashour, Catherine (Kevin) McCue, Pamela (Keith) Tabor, Paul Hellinger, Laura (John) Duckworth, Charles (Dolly) Hellinger, John (Angie) Hellinger, Linda (Hoyt) Moss, Mark (Vaness) Hellinger, and Elaine (Ryan) McGuckin. She is also survived by 23 grandchildren and four great grandchildren plus her siblings Grace (Eugene) Vinklarek, Charles David Goertz, and Michael (Patti) Goertz and numerous nieces and nephews.
Visitation on Tuesday, Jan. 30 from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Cook Walden on Lamar Blvd. with Rosary at 5:00 p.m. Funeral Mass at St. Louis Catholic Church on Burnet Rd. at 10:30 a.m. Wed., Jan. 31. Burial at Kovar Cemetery on Stolle Ln in Flatonia, Tx at 2:00 p.m.
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