Helen May (Kerns) Shaeffer

October 11, 1895 – November 7, 1987

Helen M. Shaeffer, 92, of Yakima, Washington, died November 7, 1987.

Born October 11, 1895, in Kansas, she was the daughter of Joseph and Alice (Bristol) Kerns. She graduated from Perry High School in 1915.

On July 17, 1915, she and classmate John Nees Shaeffer were married at the home of her parents in Perry. They made their home in Arkansas City. They had three sons and were expecting another child when Mr. Shaeffer, who worked as a fireman for the Santa Fe railroad, was killed in the explosion of an oil-burning engine in the Santa Fe yards in Ponca City, Oklahoma.

At Mr. Shaeffer’s death, in August 1929, she moved the family to Washington, where she had family. She delivered their fourth son.

By 1940 she was supporting the family as a sorter for the government.

In addition to her husband, she was preceded in death by their second son, Marvin.

Members of the family surviving are her three sons, Lloyd, Leslie, and Benjamin Shaeffer.

Burial will be at the Tahoma Cemetery in Yakima, Washington.