April 23, 1910 – Nov. 28, 2010

Helen E. Alyea, 100, died Sunday, Nov. 28, 2010, at Brighton Gardens in Wheaton, Ill. She was born April 23, 1910, to Nels and Betty (nee Anderson) Johnson in New York City.

Helen grew up in North Dakota and, after earning her degree in education from Jamestown College in 1931, she taught in North Dakota for six years. In December of 1937, she married Harold W. Alyea in San Benito, Texas. While in Texas, she was a teacher and then she was with her husband through his job transfers to Cincinnati, Ohio, and then to Milwaukee. When she came to Wisconsin, she continued as an educator and was a substitute teacher at the Waukesha public schools, where she was very dedicated to students with special needs. She owned The Fabric Shop in Genesee Depot and was a former member of St. John Lutheran Church in North Prairie.

She will be missed by her children, Fredric (Charlotte) Alyea of Dunwoody, Ga., John "Jack" (Laurel) Alyea of San Carlos, Calif., James (Jean) Alyea of Wheaton, Marian (Chuck) Schmoller of Marshfield and Robert (Jaclyn) Alyea of Germantown; and grandchildren, Stefanie Alyea of Wheaton, Rebecca (Jim) Gill of Seattle, Scott Schmoller of Milwaukee, Brianne Schmoller of Sun Prairie, Brian (Lisa) Alyea of Cumming, Ga., and Kristin (Dr. John) Epstein of Princeton Junction, N.J. She is further survived by her five great-grandchildren, James, Fredric, Lauren, Isabella and Madeline, and nieces, nephews, other relatives and many friends.

She was preceded in death by her loving husband, Harold Alyea, in 1972; her daughter, Betty Alyea, in 2006; her brother, Walter Johnson; her sister, Esther Johnson; and her lifelong friend, Jeanette Olson.

Visitation will be held from 9 a.m. until the 10 a.m. funeral service Wednesday, Dec. 8, at Randle-Dable Funeral Home, 1110 S. Grand Ave., Waukesha. Graveside services will follow at Prairie Home Cemetery.

Memorials may be made to Bethesda Lutheran Communities, c/o Development Department, 600 Hoffmann Drive, Watertown, WI 53094.

For further information, please call Randle-Dable Funeral, Cremation and Preplanning Services at 547-4035, or go to www.waukeshafunerals.com to leave an online tribute.