Helen Eleanor McClure, 83, of Carthage, Missouri, went home to be with the Lord on Tuesday, June 16, 2020, following a short illness. Helen was born April 23, 1937, in Neosho, to Harold and Margaret Studebaker. She graduated from Pittsburg State University in Kansas where she met her husband, Jerry McClure. After teaching for a year in Bronaugh, Missouri, they were wed in 1963. Jerry and Helen remained happily married for 45 years until his death in 2008.
She and her husband were in missions work for ten years, serving in Brussels, Belgium, where Jerry was a printer and Helen was an accountant for the International Correspondence Institute. After moving back to the states, they moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, to work with the Lowell Lundstrom Ministries. Helen’s ministry to women began while attending St. Louis Park Assembly of God, and she continued in Women’s Ministries for years. In 1983, she and Jerry moved to Carthage where they pastored Evangel Assembly of God church for over twenty-one years. Helen was the Children’s Librarian at the Carthage Public Library, later serving as a substitute teacher for the Carthage Public Schools. She held many different ministry positions including Sunday School and Children’s Church teacher, Youth, Prayer, Women’s, and Seniors’ Leader, pianist, and choir member.
Helen is survived by a son, Stephen McClure and wife, Regina, of Kentwood, Michigan; two daughters, Debbie Knight and husband, Eric, of Nixa, Missouri, and Becky Logan and husband, David, of Shreveport, Louisiana, and nine grandchildren. She is also survived by a brother, John Studebaker and wife, Marcia, of Baraboo, Wisconsin, and sister, Mary Ellis, and husband Marvin, of Carthage, Missouri. She was preceded in death by her parents, Harold and Margaret Studebaker, of Sarcoxie, Missouri, and her brother, Jim Studebaker and wife, Peggy, of Sarcoxie, Missouri.
Helen was a loving wife, mother, grandma, sister, and friend. Her greatest joy was spending time with her family, especially her grandchildren. She loved traveling to spend time with them, hiking, playing games, working puzzles, or teaching them. Helen loved people and always thought of others before herself. She showed God’s love through her acts of service, whether it was a meal, a card, a phone call, a prayer, a hug, or even by keeping the birds fed in her backyard. The twinkle in her eye, her sweet smile, and gentle spirit brought comfort to many people. Her example of a life lived in worship to God will live on for many years to come.
A visitation will be held Thursday, June 18, 2020, from 6-7 p.m. at Ulmer Funeral Home, Carthage, Missouri. Funeral services will be held Friday, June 19, at 10 a.m. at Grace Pointe Assembly of God, Carthage, Missouri. Contributions may be made to Assemblies of God World Missions or to St. Jude Children’s Hospital, care of the Ulmer Funeral Home. Burial will follow at Oak Hill Cemetery in Carthage. Arrangements are under the direction of Ulmer Funeral Home.
