Helen Arentsen, 94, of Milwaukee and formerly of Oostburg, Wisconsin was ushered into the
loving arms of her Lord and Savior on Wednesday, February 23rd, 2022.
Helen was born July 30, 1927 in Augusta Georgia to Henrietta “Julia” (DeSmith) Timmons and
Thomas Timmons. Helen would later make the move to Cedar Grove, Wisconsin to be closer to
family after her father lost his life in the line of duty as a policeman. While standing up at her
future sister and brother-in-law’s wedding, Helen met her husband Howard Arentsen. On June
3rd, 1949, Helen and Howard were married and blessed with 63 years of marriage prior to his
death on April 28th, 2013.
After getting married they lived on the farm, the birthplace of their children, Laura and Tom.
They then moved to Hingham Wisconsin. During this time, Helen worked as a secretary at
Hingham Reformed Church and then later after moving to Oostburg Wisconsin as the secretary
at Oostburg Elementary School. Helen enjoyed this time as she loved working alongside
children.
Later in life, Helen took particular interest in reading, exploring Wisconsin, knitting, crocheting,
and watching ice skating. But most of all she loved her family, time spent with them, and she
would daily pray for all of them. She loved pouring over pictures of family.
Helen is survived by two children: Laura (Jerry) Konkel and Tom (Rachel) Arentsen. She is also
survived by her four grandchildren: Jennifer (Mark) Wiedenfeld, Jordan Arentsen, Breann
(Marshall) Chew, and Matthew Arentsen as well as two great-grandchildren Cameron
Wiedenfeld and Evelyn Chew. Helen is further survived by her sister-in-law, Jan Arentsen, and
many nieces and nephews.
Along with her parents and husband, Helen was preceded in death by sisters: Margaret (Earl)
Heinen; Mildred (Herman) Kruis and unnamed first born infant sister. She was also preceded in
death by brother-in-laws and sister-in-laws: Rueben (Elvira), Irwin (Margaret), Marvin (Donna),
Alan Arentsen, and Eunice (Roly) Dirkse.
We are thankful to very special people at Southbrook Church in Franklin and from Hingham who
loved and helped Helen grow and lean closer to the Lord, especially in her last few years. We
also want to thank all the caregivers at Emerald Castle Senior Living and Vitas Hospice for their
time, support and loving care.
Memorial donations can be made to Care Net (
https://carenetmilwaukee.com/donate/) and Samaritan’s
Purse (
https://sampur.se/3MsgLzO).
A service to celebrate Helen’s life will be on June 4th at 2pm at Hingham Church at W4390
Church Rd, Hingham, WI 53031 with refreshments to follow. A visitation will precede at 1pm.