Carol (Creelman) Helard
1942-2013
Carol Jeanne Helard passed away peacefully in her sleep, in the early morning hours of Oct. 13, 2013 at the age of 71. A 41-year resident of Blue Lake, Carol was born May 26th, 1942, in Portland, Oregon to Robert and Rosemary Creelman. She was the 5th of 7 children. Growing up in Aberdeen, Carol graduated from Weatherwax High School in 1960, where she excelled and won awards in journalism and writing. Shortly after graduating, she moved to the San Francisco Bay area where she started a career in banking. She then met and married Michael J. Helard in Daly City CA, where they had 3 children before moving to Humboldt County, where she gave birth to their 4th child in 1972. They settled in Blue Lake where they raised their children and lived out their lives. Upon their arrival to Humboldt County, Carol continued her banking career, until she was hired for a cashier position at Humboldt State University; a job which she ultimately retired from after 25 years of service. Carol, along with her husband Mike, were very involved within the community of Blue Lake. They were active members in the PTA as well as publishers of The Northern Advocate newspaper, formerly known as the Blue Lake Advocate, which had been discontinued in the 1950’s. Although not very profitable, the newspaper quenched Carol’s journalistic desires and showcased her writing talents, as well as her artistic abilities, in writing and illustrating much of the newspaper. She was an exceptional painter and artist and continued to enjoy crafting and creating well into her retirement. Carol and Mike both loved to garden and spent much of their retirement years, yard saleing and offering the many “treasures” they were able to find, for sale on Ebay, before internet selling was even common or popular in this area. Her beloved husband, Mike, passed away in January 2010. After his death, Carol became an even more prolific writer; penning numerous poems and short stories, retelling the many experiences of her youth as well as the trials and tribulations of raising a family in rural Northern California. Since Mike’s passing, Carol’s enthusiasm and zeal for life seemed to rapidly diminish without the company of her soul mate and lifelong companion. You could see in her eyes that she missed him so much and the light that he provided to all of our lives could never be replaced. She was also preceded in death by her siblings, Theodore Creelman, Neil Creelman, Leslie Creelman, as well as her nephew, Jeffrey Lawrence and Grandson, Michael Anthony. Carol was always so very proud of her children and grandchildren. She is survived by her four children, Angela Marsh and her partner Scott Easterling of TN, Michael Helard and his partner Lisa of Blue Lake, Ted Helard and his wife Heather of Ashland OR, and Tracy Helard-Shumard and her husband Trent of Mckinleyville. She was the proud grandmother of Kelley Rose Baker and her partner Jimmy McBeth of Eureka, Timothy Christie of Fieldbrook, Amanda Mcbride, Chelsea Mines and Husband Clayton, Sarah and Patrick Henry, Ashlyn Mcbride and Benjamin Marsh, all of TN, Brenden, Angela and Michael Shumard, all of Mckinleyville, as well as great-grandmother to Ryan Baker and Brody Mcbeth of Eureka, Caleb & Kallie Rose of TN, and two Great Grandchildren on the way. She is also survived by siblings Doris Creelman of Vancouver WA, John Creelman, of Auburn WA, Theresa (Trisha) Lawrence and her husband John of Bend OR, as well as numerous nieces and nephews: Robert Creelman, Douglass Creelman, Chris Creelman, Brian Creelman, Suzanne Creelman Morchin, Paul Creelman, Barbara Creelman Diggs, Daniel Creelman, Rebecca Creelman Pederaski, Gregory Lawrence, Amy (Lawrence) Bishop and Anthony Lawrence. Friends and Family are invited to attend a celebration of Carol’s life on Saturday, November 9th between 1-4 PM at E & O Bowl in Blue Lake.
Note: All obituaries listed here are copied in their entirety from their original source. Since those sources do not make these available in their archives, we have re-posted them here. Some information may be outdated.
