Helen Elizabeth Henry

Helen Elizabeth Henry was born on October 1, 1954, in Kansas City, Kansas, the oldest daughter of Richard Sherman Folsom and Etta Mae Coberly. She joined her other family members in Heaven on March 16, 2024. She is predeceased by her husband David Henry, her father Richard, mother Etta Mae and second mother Herta Folsom, 2 sisters Mamie Morrison and Ramona Wilson, 2 brothers-in-law Mike Slaven and Carl Morrison, and a nephew Carl Morrison, Jr. Helen is survived by a son, Gary W. Henry; three grandsons, Gary Jr., Timmy, and Shaun; 8 brothers and sisters, Mary Slaven, Rita Morrison, William (Vicky) Tucker, Carmen (David) Bakarich, Rickie Schmalz, William H. (Amanda) Tucker, Jr., Johanna Daugherty, and Patricia (Andy) Buck, and 3 brothers-in-law John Wilson, Dennis Morrison, and Joe Henry. Her family called Helen by her nickname “Sis” her entire life. As a child, Sis helped her mom with the cooking, cleaning, and caring for her younger sisters. She enjoyed playing baseball and hide-and-seek with her siblings and cousins. She loved to bake. Her dad’s favorite was her pumpkin pie and her son Gary’s favorite was her banana cream pie. As an adult, Sis remained a homemaker until her health no longer permitted this. Even after she could no longer care for them physically, Sis opened her home to her son, grandchildren, and other family and friends who needed a place to stay. Sis loved country music and old western movies and her family—her entire family—her parents, husband, son, grandsons, siblings, nieces and nephews, great nieces and nephews, and friends she considered family. Her love extended to family members she knew well and to those she didn’t know well. She was proud of their successes and sympathized with their struggles, having struggled in her own life with health and financial issues. She was most grateful that our blended family had learned to appreciate the value of each other and family—what we should be to each other and what we are to each other. She treasured family dinners and wished family size and schedules hadn’t made it difficult to get together more than once or twice a year. One of our most recent and best memories of Sis was from our Christmas celebration in January where we gave Sis mom’s China doll. While Sis loved and collected dolls and figurines, she burst into tears because this had been mom’s doll. Sis always said she was thankful to God for giving her two moms. We thank God that He gave us a mother, grandmother, sister, and aunt like Sis. She didn’t have a lot of things and she physically couldn’t do a lot the last 20 years of her life, but Sis never complained about her circumstances. Sis was thankful for her family and friends and showed this even in her last days. Despite significant pain, Sis took the time and effort to dictate a love letter to her family and the gifts she wanted us to have—not just so we had something to remember her by but as a final act of love to show us how much we meant to her. While we will miss her dearly, we are glad that Sis is now in Heaven with family and has an eternity free from worry and pain. Helen/Sis will be laid to rest March 25, 2024, at 1:30 pm at Leavenworth National Cemetery in Leavenworth, Kansas. Her brother, Wiliam H. Tucker, Jr. will be the officiant. Her funeral dinner will follow at Mary Ann Flunder Lodge by the Lake in Kansas City, Kansas.

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Helen Elizabeth Henry

October 1, 1954 - March 16, 2024