Address
Locke on 4th
1519 W 4th St.
Waterloo, IA 50702
Shirley Ann Helling age 94, of Hudson, Iowa passed away on Saturday March 21, 2026 at Pinnacle Specialty Care in Cedar Falls Iowa.
Shirley was born on August 16,1931 at her rural home in Bricelyn, Minnesota. She was the youngest of Eddie and Annie Hove’s 10 children. She was baptized and confirmed at South Blue Earth Church and attended Homedahl country school through the 8th grade. She attended Rake Iowa High School graduating in 1949. She married Thomas Helling October 7, 1949 at the Little Brown Church in Nashua. They lived in Kensett, Mason City, Manly, and Ventura before moving to Hudson in 1963.
Shirley worked in a hospital, as a bank teller, and the Hudson COOP Dairy as a bookkeeper. In 1973 she began working as a secretary for the principal at Hudson Community School until her retirement in 1993. In her retirement she and Tom enjoyed vacationing in Texas and at their son Mark’s home in Arizona. A special vacation was a trip to Norway in 2006 to visit Tom’s Norwegian relatives.
Shirley was a longtime member of Hudson Community Church. She enjoyed traveling, camping, baking, cooking, dancing, and loved spending time with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
She is survived by her two sons, Richard (Marilyn) Helling of Hudson, and Mark (Lisa Benton) Helling of Benson, AZ; a son-in-law, Ross Harder of Cedar Falls; four grandchildren, Heather (Gabe) Wyckoff, Missy (Jeff) Wheeler, Aaron (Melissa) Helling, and Kris (Brooke) Helling; seven great-grandchildren, Nathan and Brady Wyckoff, Scarlett, Kale, Liam, Karson and Silas Helling; two sisters-in-law, Betty Shanks of Spokane, WA, and Barb Gibbs of Galveston, TX ; and, brother-in-law, Robert Helling of Longville, MN.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Thomas; daughter, Vicky Harder; a son in infancy; granddaughter April Harder; and 9 siblings, Orville, Arlo, Clifford, Thelma, Emmeline, Clarice, Gladys, Margie, and Arlene.
A Public visitation will be held from 4:00 – 6:00 PM, Thursday, March 26, 2026 at Locke at Tower Park, 4140 Kimball Ave., Waterloo.
Public Funeral Services are at 10:30 AM, Friday, March 27, 2026 at the Community Church of Hudson, 226 Eldora Rd., Hudson. Burial will follow at the Hudson Cemetery
In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be directed to the family.
Visitation
March 26, 2026
4:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Locke at Tower Park
4140 Kimball Ave., Waterloo, IA
Funeral Service
March 27, 2026
10:30 am – 11:30 am
Community Church of Hudson
226 Eldora Rd., Hudson, IA
Words of condolences to all the Hellings.
I cannot express my sadness. I’m losing your mother and grandmother mother-in-law. It surely is that a better place and cheese with Tom now? My prayer for you, may God bless you and wrap his strong arms around you for comfort and support during this time.
Blessings to the family. She was a wonderful secretary and neighbor. Karen and I visited her three years ago and enjoyed seeing her. She was a great lady and will be missed.
Rich and Karen Hobart
I remember from Hudson Community School. I did an interview with her one time for my Journalism class that was published in the Hudson Herald. She was a very sweet lady. When I would come up and visit friends, I always made sure that I visited her. Mark and I were in the same class at Hudson. Will be praying for the family in the upcoming days.
Sincerely, Sharon Bennink Shaw
I am so sorry to hear of your loss. I will be praying for you and your family. May God bless you all as you are going through this difficult time! I love you!
Our condolences to the surviving Helling family. I pray that God gives you all comfort and understanding.
Deepest sympathy to the family. I am so sorry for your loss. I met her once, but I heard about what a wonderful person she was. She was loved by many. I will be keeping your family in my thoughts & prayers as you navigate through this difficult journey.
Our deepest sympathy to the Helling family. Our thoughts and prayers are with you during this difficult time. Shirley was our great aunt and a great aunt she was! She was one of our favorite aunts. We (Mark, Shelly, Heidi, and Holly Geerdes) all have so many fond memories of her. The Hove family now are all in heaven enjoying seeing each other, eating potato dumplings and lefse, and rejoicing with our Lord.