Helen Tanner Perkins

A Celebration of Her Life

September 18, 1921 – March 24, 2015

Helen Tanner Perkins was born on September 18, 1921 in Payson, Utah to Seth and Inger Marie Larsen Tanner.  She spent her childhood on a farm in rural Utah and enjoyed all the pleasures of working and playing in the country.  Her favorite time of year on the farm was spring because she really loved the baby animals and had fun playing with the baby pigs and baby mice.

Helen spent time with her brothers on the farm, learning to swim in the irrigation canal and swinging from the derrick in the barn.  She learned the value of work and was a help to her family.  The only time her father got really mad at her was when she took the workhorse out after a day of plowing.

Education was always important, and as a child she walked three miles each day to get to school.  While she was in High School she played the clarinet and was part of her school band.  The band was invited to play in the Rose Bowl Parade so she got a free ride to California on the railroad and was able to perform before a huge crowd of people.  One of her aunts who lived in California wanted her to stay, but she came home instead to marry her sweetheart.

Helen married William Doyle Perkins in Payson, Utah on September 16, 1939.  They started their life together living in a railroad boxcar without running water.  Taking care of her husband and babies came naturally and she was never one to complain.  She was the first one to call in an emergency and she had the reputation of being a hard worker who enjoyed serving others and always thought of herself last.

Helen loved to go on family vacations, exploring the wild areas of the Western United States.  She slept in a dirt floor tent pitched in the Uintah Mountains and was perfectly happy.  She enjoyed camping and fishing trips to the mountains and picnics in the high meadows and canyons.  Spending over 45 years in Provo, Utah was the perfect place for her because she had such a strong affinity for nature and appreciated all the beautiful scenery found right outside her door.

She was a talented seamstress and enjoyed sewing for her family.  She made dresses for her daughters and granddaughters with tiny matching dresses for their dolls.  She would often spend hours carefully making gifts for her family and it was not unusual for the door to the sewing room to be closed on Christmas Eve with Helen busy putting the finishing touches on the perfect handmade presents.  She loved frills, ruffles, and ringlets and was especially talented at making party dresses and wedding dresses.  She made special blessing dresses and tiny suits for every new addition to her family - which was no small task as the number of her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren crept toward triple digits.

Helen was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  She was a leader in faith and had a strong and unshakable testimony of the gospel.  She enjoyed her church service and was always willing to lend a hand where it was needed.  She loved the scouting program and the children in her ward and neighborhood.  She started as a scout den leader and taught the 11-year-old scouts for many years back when they were called the “guide patrol.”  She would take them on five-mile hikes along the Provo River as part of the Tenderfoot badge requirement and the scouts were always surprised at her knowledge of plants and animals.  They were also surprised at her scout craft skills.  She was so skilled that she began teaching beyond her own troop to other scout groups in the area, sharing her great knowledge and mentoring the boys she loved.

She always encouraged her children and grandchildren to excel.  She was the “home base” for her grandchildren who attended school at Brigham Young University, or started their missions at the Missionary Training Center in Provo.  She once worked for BYU at the new student orientation at the start of the new semester.  It was a perfect fit for her because she could help and serve, and make the new students feel more at home.

You could put absolute trust in every word Helen said.  She was a great teacher and had honest care and compassion for everyone.  She touched countless lives and served as an example to others of living according to your beliefs.  She was proof of the power of prayer and her family was protected because of the power of her faith.

Helen was proud of both her pioneer and Danish heritage and treasured the opportunity she had in 2001 to travel to Denmark.  She loved family reunions and would often host the Lars Larsen reunion giving her the opportunity to participate in the Danish traditions of her mother’s family.  On her pioneer side, she was one of the last living great-grandchildren of John Tanner and would introduce all of her family to the great Tanner blessing enjoyed by members of the family.

Family was the most important thing in Helen’s life, her husband and children, and her parents and brothers .  She cared for her mother and her husband during the last days of their lives making sure they could stay at home and be near the family that was so important.

Helen was the world’s best grandma and travelled the country to help care for every grandbaby.  She went to every baby blessing, baptism, marriage, and missionary farewell.  She cherished the time she spent with her family and she had a talent for making every grandchild feel like they were the most important. She often quoted a piece of advice from her Grandfather “Whatever you do, keep the family together.”  She kept her family together and each member of that family knows without a doubt that they were loved.

Helen returned to the loving arms of her Heavenly Father on March 24, 2015.  She is survived by her children Janet (Robert) Strebel of Payson, Utah; Betty Hone Anderson of Springville, Utah; Gail (Tommy) Jewell of Price, Utah; and Mark (Karen) Perkins of St. Charles, Missouri.  She has 22 grandchildren, 70 great-grandchildren, and 26 great-great-grandchildren.  She is also survived by her brother Roy Tanner of Mapleton, Utah, and numerous nieces and nephews.  She was preceded in death by her husband Doyle, her parents, and her brother Gene.

Funeral Services will be held Friday, March 27, 2015 at 11:00 a.m. in the Kolob 11 ^th Ward Chapel at 1627 W. Cadbury Lane in Springville.  There will be a viewing at the church from 9:00 to 10:45 a.m. prior to the services.  Burial will take place in the Provo City Cemetery under the direction of Wheeler Mortuary.