Paul Helfrick's Obituary
Lovingly RememberedPaul Helfrick Aug. 6, 1928 d. June 7, 2018 at the age of 90 Memorial service will be held at Immanuel Lutheran Church, 400 N Aspen, Broken Arrow, OK, 74012 on Friday, June 15, 2018 at 11:00am. A small luncheon will be held after the service for family and friends. A gravesite service will be held on Saturday, June 16, 2018 at 5:00pm at Liberty Cemetery in Martinsburg, MO. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Immanuel Lutheran Church in memory of Paul Helfrick.Paul was born August 6, 1927 in Kerrobert, Saskatchewan, Canada. He was raised in Canada and worked for a few years as a young adult and then decided to try life in the United States. He lived and worked in St. Louis, Missouri for quite some time where he soon became a devout Cardinals fan, attending many games at Busch Stadium.Paul met Matalene, the love of his life, and they married in the late ‘50s. He attained US Citizenship September 3, 1958. He also acquired his second family which included four step-sons and one step-daughter (Howard, Wiley, Bill, and Bob Purcell and Shirley LeVan). He would wind up with 20 grandchildren, several nieces and nephews, several great-grandchildren and even great-great-grandchildren.Paul is survived by his brother Larry, sister Loni, nieces and nephews, great-nieces and nephews, sister-in-law Kay of Canada, his step-son Wiley, and of course the grandkids and great-grandkids here in the States.He was proceeded in death by his parents, Genevieve and George; beloved wife, Matalene; step-children, Howard, Bob, Bill and Shirley. Siblings Joe, Jack, Pete, Adam, Vinnie, George, Jerry, Phil, Minnie, Emily, and Marge. Just a few hours after Paul’s passing, his sister Mona Watchorn was called home as well, accompanying him on his journey to Heaven.Paul was a Master Carpenter, one of the best. He built homes for doctors and lawyers, with some of the finest carpentry imaginable. He did many remodels and loved helping his family with their homes as well.Paul and Matalene would eventually move from Decatur, IL to Broken Arrow, OK where they joined Trinity Lutheran Church. He found joy helping around the church when the new addition was built and helped place the cross atop the steeple and the sign out front. Never one to shy away from helping in the kitchen, Trinity’s “Potato Mashing King” was born when he affixed a drill to the masher, thus being able to mash the most potatoes you’ve ever seen, all at once!He loved working in the yard and with flowers, feeding the birds and playing with his dogs. If he wasn’t watching Cardinal baseball, it was a western. The TV would not be turned off if John Wayne was on!After Matalene passed, he lived with his granddaughter Mary Sanford for seven and a half years. He continued to work in the yard and tune in to those games.The hip replacement he came to need after he fell and broke his hip caused Alzheimer’s and Dementia to settle in. He was then placed in the caring hands of professionals at Storey Oaks Memory Care, where he was visited frequently by his granddaughter, Mary and great-granddaughter, Elizabeth, grandson Parker Cruthis and his wife, Glenda.Paul was an exceptional man with a kind and giving spirit that blessed each one of our lives. There was never a moment when his compassion would run out or his desire to help people. He will certainly be missed by everyone here, but he has found peace above, in his new, eternal home.
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