Helen Gauthier, 87, of Needham passed after a prolonged illness on December 10, 2010 at the Stanley R. Tippett House in Needham.. A most gentle and kind woman, devoted mother and grandmother, she enjoyed the love and affection of her devoted family and friends through her recent illness.
Helen Catherine Steinke (Gauthier) was born in Shawano, WI on September 8, 1923, the daughter of first generation German immigrants, Louis and Lena Steinke. Helen grew up in Shawano, WI along with her brother and sisters (Marvin, Marie, and Charlotte). Helen attended grade school and graduated from Shawano High School in May 1941. Helen then enrolled in Northwestern University in Chicago, IL, majoring in education with a specialty in Speech Therapy. World War II was going on during this time, and in 1945 Helen married her high school sweetheart, Joseph Rouleau Gauthier of Neopit, WI. They married and honeymooned in Key West, FL during a break in Rouleau’s service, and she returned to school to complete her Bachelor of Science Degree in Education.
After World War II ended, Helen and Joseph returned to Shawano, WI, where they were blessed with the birth of their first child, Mari-Helen Gauthier. Rouleau and Helen then moved to South Bend, IN where Rouleau completed his education at Notre Dame University. In South Bend, they were again blessed with the birth of their 2nd child, Joanne Gauthier.
Rouleau then began his career with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Department of Interior. Helen and Rouleau relocated to the Sioux Reservation in Rosebud, South Dakota. Here they gave birth to their son, Neil Gauthier.
After a couple of years in West Covina, CA, the family returned to Shawano, with Rouleau working on behalf of the Menominee Indian tribe. While in Shawano, Helen began work as a Speech Therapist at the Lincoln elementary school.
In 1960, Helen and Rouleau relocated once again to Washington, D.C. where Rouleau accepted a position with the home office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Beginning in 1960, Helen returned to teaching in the Fairfax County Public School System as a Speech Therapist. Helen was devoted to her profession as a speech therapist, and often tutored children with particularly difficult speech impediments in her home after school and on weekends.
In 1970 she left teaching and returned to being a dedicated mother and housewife.
For the next thirty years, Helen and Rouleau spent their time involved with their children’s lives, witnessing the marriages of their two daughters, Mari-Helen and Joanne, and the birth of their grandson, Andrew Crispin.
After the death of her husband, Joseph, in 1997, Helen moved to Needham, MA in 2000 where she lived with he daughter Joanne and her family until her death on December 10, 2010.
The beloved wife of the late Joseph R. Gauthier., she was the loving mother of Joanne Crispin, and her husband Richard Crispin of Needham, Mari-Helen Skinner, and her husband, the late Donald Skinner of Destin, FL and Neil Gauthier of Alexandria, VA. Beloved Grandmother of Andrew Crispin of Needham. Sister of Marvin Steinke of Green Bay, WI, Charlotte Wagner of Greenville, TX, and the late Marie Steinke of Madison, WI. Survived by many loving nieces and nephews, and dearly loved and cared for by her fellow parishioners at Saint Dunstan’s Episcopal Church, Dover, MA.
A memorial service for Helen will be held at St. Dunstan’s Episcopal Church, in Dover, MA at a later date. Helen will be interred at the National Memorial Park, Falls Church, VA next to her beloved husband, Joseph R. Gauthier who passed away in July 1997.
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