Helene Gertrud Erika Meyer's Obituary
Helene Gertrud Erika Meyer’s Obituary:
Helene was born on June 12, 1921 in Elbing, Germany. She was 94 years old when she passed away at home on January 16, 2016 at 9:00 AM. She was married in Kiel, Germany and later moved to Winnipeg, Canada, and had a baby girl, Monica, me. In 1967 she moved with her family to Oahu. She has lived on the windward side of Oahu for 48 ½ years. She has been residing in Hawaii for about ½ of her life, she said Hawaii is similar to her home in East Prussia. Helene said when she moved to Hawaii she felt like she was home again because she saw the ocean all around her just like her home back in East Prussia. She loves to go swimming and walk along the beach. The beach in East Prussia looks like Kailua Beach with the high sand dunes and ironwood trees. Helene would enjoy walks along Kailua Beach remembering special times she had as a child with her family walking along the beach in East Prussia. I actually got to walk along the beach with her in East Prussia; it was a GLORIOUS moment for both of us. She got to share her childhood home with me. :) She said that she saw herself in me when I was swimming in the same ocean that she enjoyed swimming in as a child. What is MOST important to Helene is HER FAMILY! She loved being a wife and a mother. She said what she always wanted was a family of her own. When we lived on Mokapu Blvd. we would lay out in the backyard by the canal, watch the fish jump and look up at the stars—it was SO nice! When I was young my Mom would spend a lot of time with me, going to the beach, swimming and riding bikes together. In the summer we would do crafts together, make stone animals / stuffed animals / bean bags, felt bookmarks, crocheted pillows/stuffed animals, and sand paintings. One of my fondest memories of my Mom was when she made Kartofel Puffer (Potato Pancakes) for my Birthday. They were SO delicious and crunchy! It was made with LOVE for me because she would stand in front of the hot frying pan, just frying one potato pancake after another, just for me! I would eat about 20 of them and then want to burst! I enjoyed it SO much and didn’t care that I was SO full! One of my Mom’s favorite things to do was cooking a big meal and having her whole family sitting around the table enjoying it! :) She would cook awesome meals from Germany that my Dad I and enjoyed such as Kohl Rolanden (cabbage rolls), breaded, fried pork chops (the best I have ever eaten), country style spareribs with macaroni and cheese of course, and turkey was lots of her AWESOME stuffing! My mom’s favorite movie is, “Sound of Music”. She loves to sing all the songs. :) Singing songs made her happy, she would brighten up a room when she would sing, she had SO much fun! Helene loves “Chicken Soup for the Soul” stories and poems—because they are written from the heart and have a positive message, which is everything Helene’s life has been about! She loves life! My Mom was an AWESOME Role Model for me, always living a healthy, smoke / alcohol / drug free life! She also always used positive words, never uttering a swear word or using foul language. She would always tell me, “You catch more flies with honey than vinegar”. She was teaching me to be kind to others. She cared about others and tried to help them. Helene always yearned to learn more, she would read and listen to informative radio and TV shows. She would write beautiful letters to her friends, poems, short stories, and recently finished writing her life story. Helene also enjoys hiking, looking at nature, swimming, walking, stuffed animals, playing Chinese checkers (which she always won at), cats, listening to birds sing, singing, dancing, making crafts, cooking, dark chocolate, Kohl Rolanden, mangos, talking with others, helping others, and MOST importantly spending quality time with friends and family. She has a heart for others! People would call her, “The Lady of Love”! She always had a lot of love to give! She would like to be remembered by people treating each other kindly, with respect and love! She would brighten everyone’s day with her smile! So, please smile when you think of her and the happy times you had together with her; that is what she would like! She is survived by her husband, Hans and her daughter, Monica. She has been married for 63 years, their anniversary is on January 24th. Funeral Services will be at St. John Lutheran Church on 1004 Kailua Rd., phone number, 261-5787, February 20th. Visitation at 10:00 AM and Service at 11:00 AM. We will then proceed to the burial site at Valley of the Temples Memorial Park at 47-200 Kahekili Hwy. , phone number, 518-2878. Family and friends are invited to CELEBRATE her life; see you there.
In lieu of flowers, family donations will be accepted.
Thank you.
Interment Location: Aupuni Lani, Lot 37, A-6
What’s your fondest memory of Helene?
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Share a story where Helene's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Helene you’ll never forget.
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