Eva Opal Heffner Helton, 93
Eva Opal Heffner Helton, 93
October 5, 1924 - January 11, 2018
Eva was born in Elk City, Oregon
on October 5, 1924
to Wanda Ellen Dodds Heffner and Earl Cedric Heffner. The family was there for work
at a logging camp. They returned to the family homestead at Eagle, Idaho in November, 1925
and she spent her childhood there.
From 1945 to 1955, Eva moved
around the country, living in Eastern Idaho, Utah, Pennsylvania, and Washington State.
During this time she married and divorced 4 times. After returning to Eagle,
she married Leslie Helton on February
9, 1956, and this time it stuck. Their sometimes loud, but always devoted
marriage lasted 43 years until Leslie’s death in March 1999.
In her early years, Eva
worked in mining and logging camps, at a glass blowing factory, a candy factory
and commercial laundries. Most of her life was spent as a wife, mother and
homemaker, though she was a Master Graphoanalist (handwriting) and also trained
in astrology.
She provided mail order
readings as a cottage industry.
Eva was a strong willed individual
with a dry, sometimes irreverent sense of humor. She loved and cared for her
family, often sacrificing to see they were safe and provided for.
Throughout her life, Eva was a
student and a seeker of knowledge with a wide range of interests. She was a voracious
reader of many subjects including religion, neuroscience, poetry, autobiography,
psychology, fiction, mysteries, science fiction and humor. Books were precious
to her and she lived among stacks of them.
At one time, she got a
florist’s license and filled the house, porch and back patio with pots of
exotic plants, succulents being her favorite. Another time she got interested
in painting landscapes and filled a big stack of canvases before moving on.
Eva had a phenomenal memory
for names, dates and events and loved to collect and share family history and
stories from her own life. She was a dedicated letter writer and maintained a
long and rich correspondence with a large circle of friends and extended
family.
Also a prolific poet, Eva
produced thousands of poems, making a goal of at least one a day for years at a
time. Quirky, emotional and often humorous, her works have occasionally been
published, but mostly shared with family and friends, or simply piled up. They
represent a window into her life and heart, a treasure for her descendants.
Eva was preceded in death by
her husband Leslie, son John, daughter Anita and grandson Nicholas. She is survived
by her son Randy, grandchildren Troy,
Cheri, Randi, Mia and Nathaniel as well as 11 great-grandchildren and 3
great-great grandchildren.
Family and friends will be
welcomed to a Celebration of Life for Eva and Leslie to be held Tuesday, April
3, 2018, from 4:00 to 8:00 PM at Trinity Lutheran Church in Nampa, Idaho, following
a family gathering and interment at the Star Cemetery, Star, Idaho.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Eva Opal Heffner Helton, 93, please visit our flower store.
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