Helen Elizabeth Winters

Helen Elizabeth Winters, age 98 and a half, passed away from natural causes on May 23rd, 2024 surrounded by family and her poodle at St. Anthony’s Hospital in Gig Harbor, WA. She was born January 2, 1926 to Oscar Meyer and Elizabeth Meyer nee Mueller, in an area called Skye, Washington in Clark County. This area is now absorbed into Washougal. Her family then moved to Granger Washington, where she was a longtime resident. Other places she lived during her life included: Augusta, Georgia; and also in Washington state: Yakima, Sequim, Wenatchee, and Pasco; as well as a stay on Guam. Her final residence was in Port Orchard, WA living with Granddaughter Heidi and Grandson in law, Kevin O’Claire.
She is survived by her daughter, Joyce O'Neill (Dan) of Bonanza, Oregon and her son, Lewis Robertson of Vancouver, Washington; sisters, Dorothy Larimore and Elma Puyear; brother, Ted Meyer; six Grandchildren, thirteen Great Grandchildren, and four Great Great Grandchildren with two more on the way, and Tuffy, her poodle.
She was predeceased by her parents as well as brothers: Eddie, Richard, Johnny, Carl; sisters: Rozella, and Thelma; and half siblings: Walter and Irene. She was widowed by her first husband, Jean Robertson, who died tragically in a car/train accident shortly after returning home to Augusta from WW2 when Helen was 20. She had three other marriages during her life: Laverne Smart and Fred Stewart; both of whom she divorced; and finally, Earl Winters whom she loved dearly and also left her widowed.
Always having plans and goals helped Helen accomplish much in her life. She loved to connect with people and worked to stay in contact with her many friends and family members. She was very strong willed, fiercely independent, courageous, and could be very opinionated. She had a heart of gold and would go above and beyond to help anyone in need. Helen loved animals of all kinds, but especially dogs. Rarely was she without a canine companion, even until the end.
Helen completed formal schooling through the 8th grade at Granger, Washington, however, she never stopped learning. She experienced many different jobs during her lifetime beginning with being a farm hand for her folks’ farm. Additional employment included, but was not limited to: Vineyard and Grape Nursery owner; Asparagus “grass” cutter; Photography shop assistant; Butcher's shop meat wrapper; Long Haul truck driver, hauling grape juice to wineries in California; Infrastructure building in Guam for a US Government contractor. Potato Truck Driver for the spud harvest in Tulelake CA; Fruit Sorter at a few Yakima Valley fruit packing companies (cherries, apples, etc.); Wenatchee Experiment Station, assisting with Apple tree pruning, etc.; Hop sorter for USDA grading lab (very smelly job); Mary Kay Cosmetics Lady; School Bus Driver in Pasco WA; Retail Clerk/Apparel Hanger at Gottschalks at Union Gap, WA (this last one in her 70s).
Helen described herself as a Goer and a Doer, and she sure was! Her hobbies and interests were vast and included: Traveling, she toured around the USA (including both Alaska and Hawaii), Canada, Mexico and Europe. She also visited Brazil as well as Guam. She was a Snow Bird to Arizona in her camper several years. She enjoyed fishing and hunting, a 4-point Elk Buck as her biggest prize. She was a vegetable and flower gardener including raising peonies, which many people in Granger purchased to adorn gravesites for Memorial Day. She enjoyed horseback riding in her younger years, even participating in roundups of livestock. She crocheted/knitted as well as sewed, making her children clothing for school. She was an avid bowler, bowling in leagues and tournaments for many years. She painted chinaware and Christmas village figurines. Helen enjoyed water skiing and snow skiing when she got the chance. Helen enjoyed rockhounding with many trips to find garnets, etc. She was a board game and card player; enjoying pinocle, cribbage, and many games. In later years after losing 75% of her vision, she still enjoyed playing Yahtzee, if someone could read her dice for her. She loved country and big band music and loved to go dancing. Helen played the accordion, mostly on a smaller Hohner diatonic button accordion. She played “Red River Valley” on it about a month before she passed. Starting years ago, she wrote in a diary daily.
A major accomplishment was the years-long work she put in being a family Genealogist. These past couple of years, Helen’s personal assistant and dear friend, Cindy E., helped her realize her dream of transferring all the data from hand written pages to a genealogy computer program and then uploaded online onto Ancestry.com.
She had been a member of St. Gabriel's Catholic Church, Port Orchard, Washington, where she will have her Funeral Mass at 11am on June 11th, 2024.
Donations to her name can be made to: Kitsap Animal Rescue & Education (KARE), Silverdale, WA
Helen will be greatly missed by her family and friends, but we know there is a large group of souls and a big pack of happy dogs catching up with her now in heaven. We love you Grandma Helen. XOXO