Helen Pepperling

Helen Pepperling, 91, of Moline, died Wednesday, August 15, 2018, at Hope Creek Care Center, East Moline.

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m., Friday, August 24, 2018, at Riverside United Methodist Church, 712 16th St., Moline.  Visitation will be one hour prior to services at the church.  Entombment will be at the Moline Memorial Park Mausoleum.  Memorials may be made to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation or to Riverside United Methodist Church.

Helen Marie was born on April 21, 1927, in Moravia, IA, the daughter of Carl and Vera Viola (Meyer) Funkhouser.  She later moved to Iowa Falls, Iowa, where she went through school and graduated from high school in 1944.  She married Darald Eller in 1945, in Iowa Falls.  That ended in divorce in 1980.  Three children were born, Darla Marie who died at 10 days, Jon Kevin who died at 40 from complications of diabetes and Wesley Richard who still survives with his wife, Diane.  Another marriage of 2 years ended in divorce.

Helen worked at various jobs and then went to work at John Deere Dubuque in 1965 to 1974, and then to John Deere Parts in Milan, Illinois, until retirement in 1986, after 21 years.  She later worked at Ameritech for 5 years and MidAmerican Energy for 9 years, finally retiring in 2004 at the age of 77.

In addition to her astounding work ethic, Helen had a wonderful sense of adventure.  When the opportunity arose, she loved to travel.  Her travels included the National Parks in the West, Alaska, Mexico, France, Germany, Spain and other places of wonder.  She even earned her pilot’s license at age 55.

She was a member of Riverside United Methodist Church, where she had worked as their secretary and was also active with Women’s Club and United Methodist Women.  She loved to travel and shop, but above all, Helen was a devoted mother to her children.

Survivors include her son, Wesley (Diane) Eller; sisters, Kathryn Rieks, Thorton, CO, and Alice (Gene) Wilkie, Hubbard, IA. Also left to mourn her loss are several nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her sisters, Della Harris and Dorothy Madden.

A special thank you to the staff of Hope Creek Care Center.  You were all so wonderful to Helen, and she loved you all.

Memories may be shared on the tribute wall.