Helen H Orton

Helen Orton died June 17, 2015. She was born in Lancaster, Wisconsin. Along with her brother Paul, she was raised and attended schools in Lancaster until she graduated high school. She attended Platteville College and graduated from the University of Wisconsin at Madison with a BA and a degree in nursing. She married Hugh Orton, a mining engineer, also from Lancaster. They moved to Mascot, Tennessee, a zinc mining community, and she lived there until 2010 when she moved to Coppell, Texas, to be close to family. She had a deep devotion to her Catholic faith and was a parishioner of Immaculate Conception Church in Knoxville, Tennessee for almost 70 years. At St. Joseph Village in Coppell she was thrilled to have a chapel just steps away from her apartment.

Throughout her life, she was always active and involved with many interests: gardening, bridge, sewing, reading, community organizations, Ladies of Charity, Christopher Cabs, Girl Scouts, PTA including County Council participation, foreign language classes, church choir, bowling, Altar Society, camping. When her sight started to decline, activities were slowly, reluctantly dropped, one by one.

Helen was preceded in death by her husband soon after celebrating their fiftieth wedding anniversary, and by her brother Paul. She is survived by her daughter Helen Williams and son-in-law Chris, her granddaughter Beth Cusack and husband Tim, and great-grandsons, Ben and Sam Cusack. Nephews Steve and Bob have been like sons to her, and their families enriched her life immeasurably. Helen was grateful for the dear friends she made during her 102 years: she used to say her friends kept getting younger, the blessing and curse of living a long life.

A rosary will be said at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 27, 2015, followed by a Funeral Mass at 11:00 to celebrate Helen's life, at the Holy Family Chapel in Christus St. Joseph Village,1201 E. Sandy Lake Road, Coppell, Texas,

Her family will receive friends following the Mass in the living room at St. Joseph. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Ladies of Charity or the FISH Food Pantry in Knoxville, Tennessee. Donations to “Ladies of Charity Knoxville” can be made online or send checks to Ladies of Charity, 120 W. Baxter Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37917. Checks for FISH should be made out to Immaculate Conception Church with “FISH Pantry” in the memo line; the address is Immaculate Conception Church, 414 W. Vine Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37902. Arrangements have been made by Rolling Oaks Memorial Center in Coppell.