10/03/2014
ROSE HILL — Helen Mae (Moll) Dannels, 86, of Rose Hill, passed away Friday morning, Oct. 3, 2014, at Mahaska Health Partnership Hospice Services Serenity House in Oskaloosa.
Helen Mae Dannels, daughter of Jacob “Jake” and Christine Jansen Moll, was born May 18, 1928, in Pella. Helen was a 1946 graduate of Knoxville High School and following her education worked for the Bellemy Telephone Company.
Feb. 25, 1949, Helen married Robert Eugene Dannels in Albia. Early in their marriage, when Bob was in the Navy, Helen traveled many times between Iowa and California. While in Iowa she worked at Rolscreen (Pella Corp.) and while in California she worked in a fish canning factory.
Upon returning to Iowa, Helen and Bob eventually purchased a farm on the west edge of Rose Hill. Helen was a true partner with Bob on the farm, she operated all the machinery and helped with the livestock and in the field, in addition to her responsibilities as a homemaker and mother.
She planted a large garden, canning and freezing the bounty it gave her. She loved life on the farm and taught her children to enjoy the work and to live that life as well. Because she was a child of the depression, Helen was thrifty and efficient; she enjoyed hosting and going to garage sales, and she was a recycler before it was popular. Helen was a member of the Rose Hill Community Church and the Rose Hill Ruritan Club.
Her family includes her children: Lisa Kinkade, of Oskaloosa; Rodney Dannels, of Rose Hill, and Rob (Sally) Dannels, of Rose Hill; six grandchildren: Jeremy (Carey) Dannels, Josh (Ayla Buckley) Dannels, Jake (Andrea) Dannels, Ashley Kinkade, Cody Randell, and Mikayla McQueen; 12 great-grandchildren; and a sister-in-law, Betty Moll, of Knoxville.
In addition to her parents, Helen was preceded in death by her husband, Robert, and a brother, Clarence Moll.
Funeral services for Helen will be held at 10:30 a.m., Tuesday, Oct. 7, at Garland-Van Arkel-Langkamp Funeral Chapel in Oskaloosa with the Rev. Del Bittner of the Rose Hill Community Church officiating. Burial will be in Forest Cemetery.
Visitation will begin at 11 a.m., Monday, at the funeral chapel; the family will be present from 5-7 p.m. to greet visitors. Memorials may be made to the MHP Hospice Services Serenity House or to Rose Hill Community Church.
Condolences and memories may be sent by visiting gvlfuneralchapel.com.