Obituary of Helen A. Wittman

Helen Agnes (Patterson) Wittman was received into the loving arms of our Lord on her 92nd birthday, August 14, 2007. She was the second of eight children born to Edwin and Julia (Larsen) Patterson in Sand Creek, South Dakota. She and her family moved to Wisconsin when she was a small child and then relocated to Washington State when she was a teenager. She graduated from Anacortes High School in 1932. On August 8th, 1936 she was married to Francis Bernard Wittman. She was the loving mother of six children. She worked for many years at the Anacortes Port Dock while assisting her husband in their successful automobile dealership. Helen was a devoted member of St. Anthony’s Guild and the Altar Society at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Anacortes, Washington. She was an active member of the Eagle’s Auxiliary for many years, where during her tenure as President the Auxiliary won more awards then in the previous 10 years. She was an outspoken Democrat, whose love of the Brooklyn and L.A. Dodgers was only exceeded by her anathema of the N.Y. Yankees. She divorced in 1965 and moved to Portland, Oregon where she worked for the City of Portland Police Department and the Veterans Administration before retiring from the State of Oregon Employment Office in 1984. In the years following her retirement, she enjoyed caring for her grandchildren. She moved to Washington in 1998. An award winning and published poet, she shared her passion for literature with everyone. She regaled many with her repertoire of memorized poems and stories. She was a cookie and kuchen guru and she never met a jar of peanut butter she didn’t like. Helen was preceded in death by her parents, two brothers and two sisters, her ex-husband, her first child Francis Bernard, Jr. and her oldest daughter JoAnne Marie (Wittman) Farman. She is survived by her sister Kathryn Harmon of Milwaukie, Oregon, brother Edwin Patterson of Portland, Oregon, brother James Patterson of Gladstone, Oregon, son Robert Lewis Wittman of Lacey, Washington, and three daughters Julie Mae (Wittman) Rushin of Peachtree City, Georgia, Jeanne Marlene Wittman and Jolene Melissa (Wittman) Pendergrass both of Lacey, Washington, 12 grandchildren, 26 great-grandchildren and 5 great-great-grandchildren. In lieu of flowers masses may be offered for the repose of her soul or donations made to Catholic Charities.