Mrs. Helen M. (Helander) Bantz

Mrs. Helen M. Bantz, 77, of Galesburg, Illinois, died Tuesday, November 27, 2018, at the University of Iowa Medical Center, Iowa City.

She was born August 27, 1941, in Chicago, Illinois, the daughter of John Oscar and Olive Johnson Helander.  She married Edgar E Bantz on November 3, 1962 in Chicago.  He survives.

Also surviving is a daughter, Rev. Susan Bantz of Muscatine, Iowa; a son, Steven (Milisa) Bantz of Burlington, Iowa; a sister, Doris Williams of Derry, New Hampshire, and three grandchildren, Thomas Gustafson and Avery and Temperance Potter-Menke.  She was preceded in death by her parents. 

Helen was raised in Chicago and moved to Galesburg in 1966.  She graduated from Austin High School in 1959 and then attended Mt. Sinai Hospital School of Nursing. She received her registered nurse diploma in 1962.  She later received her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Sangamon State University. 

Helen worked for 34 years as a nursing manager for Galesburg Cottage Hospital.  She retired in 2007.

She was a member of Emmanuel United Methodist Church and served on the church board.  She later became a member of First United Methodist Church in Galesburg and Sweetland United Methodist Church in Muscatine, Iowa. She was also a board member for Prairie Players Civic Theatre and helped found the Safe Harbor Family Crisis Center. 

Funeral Services are scheduled for 11:00 am Monday, December 3, 2018, at Hinchliff-Pearson-West Funeral Directors and Cremation Services. Rev. Vince Rohn will officiate. Visitation will be 2:00-4:00 pm Sunday, December 2, 2018, at the chapel. Burial will be in East Linwood Cemetery. Memorials may be made to the Chaddock Children’s Foundation or FISH. Online condolences may be made at www.h-p-w.com.

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