Helen Dooly

Helen L. Dooly age 94 of Waverly, Iowa, formerly of rural Plainfield, died Thursday March 14, 2013, at the Waverly Health Center. Funeral services will be held 10:30 a.m. Monday, March 18, 2013, at the St. John’s Lutheran Church Western Douglas, rural Plainfield with Rev. Kim Thacker presiding. Interment will be held at St. John’s Cemetery, rural Plainfield with Travis Miller, Joseph Miller, William Dooly, Jordan Nash, Butch Boeckman, and Burton Feuchtwanger serving as pallbearers. Friends may greet the family 3:00 – 6:00 p.m. Sunday March 17, 2013, at the Hugeback – Johnson Funeral Home in Nashua. Visitation continues an hour prior to the service at the church on Monday. Helen Lucille Dooly was born July 30, 1918, in rural Nashua, Iowa the daughter of Carmi and Ruth (Sheldon) Till. She attended rural county schools in the Nashua area until 5th grade. Helen then attended school in New Hampton and graduated from the New Hampton High School in 1936. Upon graduation she enrolled in the Iowa State Teachers College in Cedar Falls, Iowa and graduated in 1938. Her first teaching job was in Ionia, and she spent the next seven years teaching in numerous schools around Iowa. Helen’s mother introduced her to Maurice Dooly, a young man that attended their church. Helen and Maurice were married on September 12, 1945, at the Union Park Methodist Church in Des Moines. Shortly thereafter the couple moved from Des Moines, to a Bremer County farm where they farmed and raised their three children. Her beloved Maurice passed away in 1985. Shortly thereafter Helen moved to Waverly. During this time her youngest son Richard passed away from a heart attack. He was only 39 years old. In 2010, she moved into the Bartels Eichhorn Haus retirement center. Just a week ago Helen moved into Bartels Linden Place, an assisted living center. She enjoyed living in the Waverly community and had many friends. Her hobbies include oil painting, ceramics, knitting, crocheting, and sewing quilting blocks for the Western Douglas Church. She was an avid reader, sometimes reading up to five books a week. Helen is survived by one son, Carmi “Tom” (Ann Marie) Dooly of Cave Creek, AZ; one daughter, Joyce (Dennis) Miller of Waverly, IA; five grandchildren, Travis (Jo) Miller, Tracy (Tom) Nash, Danielle Dooly, William (Kristin) Dooly, and Victoria (Albert) Hampton. She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Maurice Dooly (1985); one son, Richard Dooly (1993); one brother, Donald Till (1946).