Obituary of Helen Mae Starkweather

Helen was born March 5, 1935, on the family farm in Kit Carson Colorado to Sigurd and Evelyn Olsen. She passed peacefully on December 16, 2021, at Jackson Creek Senior Living Center in Monument, Colorado surrounded by her beloved husband and family. Helen attended grade school at the local country Mount Pearl school, and then graduated from Kit Carson High School in 1952. She then attended Central Business College in Denver. Helen worked as a secretary for Addressograph Multigraph in Denver and then later at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. She met her husband Gerald (Jerry) Starkweather while he was stationed at Camp Carson in early 1955. They were married on Thanksgiving Day November 24, 1955, on the family home place. They moved to Jamestown New York after they were married. Throughout their 66-year marriage they lived in New York, Colorado, Maryland, Georgia, and Virginia. They had wonderful memories of travel and cruises around the world. Helen always wanted to be back in Colorado seeing her mountains and returned to the Colorado Springs area in 2003. Helen is survived by her husband Jerry Starkweather and sons Bob of Kit Carson Colorado and Jim (Sandra) of Dothan Alabama, daughters Karen (Scott) Thomason of Colorado Springs and Sandy (Tim) Smith of Centreville Virginia. She is also survived by her nine grandchildren, Crystal (Matt) Ford, Jennifer (Drew) Phillips, Jessica (Jeremy) Lewis, Josh (Bia) Starkweather, Drew (Kristen) Thomason, Ryan (Shannon) Smith, Michael Smith, Laura’nee Starkweather, and Latarya Starkweather; her six great grandchildren Kalini and Leikea Ford, Hannah and Emma Phillips, Kelemi and Liliani Lewis; her brothers William (Dona) Olsen, Norman (Wanda) Olsen and Gary Longwell and numerous nieces and nephews. Helen was preceded in death by her parents Sigurd and Evelyn Olsen, sister Marilyn Olsen-Longwell and granddaughters Kelsey and Gabriella Starkweather. Helen was a longtime member of various Methodist churches serving in the United Methodist Women’s ministry and in the Emmaus of the Rockies community. Family, friends and her faith were very important to her. The family is extremely grateful to the Jackson Creek Memory care staff and Pikes Peak Hospice for the care they provided to Helen. A burial service will be held Wednesday December 22, 2021, at 11:00 at the Kit Carson Cemetery. A Celebration of Life will held Saturday, March 5, 2022 at 11:00a.m. at Sunrise United Methodist Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to Pikes Peak Hospice.