Helen Harker Thurn

Helen Harker Thurn, 102, of Goshen, died Friday, September 21, 2007, at Greencroft Healthcare.  She had been a resident in the Greencroft facilities since 1991, coming from Logansport. She was born on June 27, 1905, in Van Wert, Ohio, to Thomas Holmes and Lena (Razet) Harker.  She married Karl F. Thurn.  He preceded her in December 1967. A 1923 graduate of Bristol High School, Mrs. Thurn attended classes at Elkhart business School and St. Cloud College, Minnesota.  She worked as a teller for 15 years at St. Joseph Valley Bank and as a bookkeeper for ten years at the YWCA in Logansport. A member of the First United Methodist Church, Goshen, she was an avid ‘birder” and wherever they lived, there was always a birth bath and bird feeders.  During their years in Minnesota, Helen and Karl wrote a book about Guri Endreson, a pioneer woman of the 1880’s in Kandiyohi, County, Minnesota.  They also edited a centennial celebration book, Round Robin of Kandiyohi County and Gems of Poetry, a book of favorite poems. Mrs. Thurn is survived by a sister-in-law, Doris Thurn Hueur of Crookston, Minnesota, and a brother-in-law, Wendell Macy of Logansport, Indiana.  Also surviving are nieces, Marilyn Macy Dix of Mt. Gilead, Ohio an Jane Macy Arseneau of Albany, New York; nephews, David Macy of Florida and Thomas Harker of California; and great-nieces, Vicky and Tanya Christy of Middlebury, Indiana. Graveside services for family and friends will be held at 2:00 p.m., Tuesday, September 25, 2007 at Oak Ridge Cemetery, Bristol.  Pastoral Assistant Pamela Kling of the First United Methodist Church, Goshen, will officiate. Burial will be in Oak Ridge Cemetery, Bristol. Memorial contributions may be made to the National Audubon Society or Greencroft Foundation.