Obituary of Kristin Helm

Kristin Kay (McKeen) Helm, age 44, of Shellsburg, formerly of Iowa City. Kris suffered a massive heart attack and died on Thursday, November 13, 2003 at a hospital in Cedar Rapids. Kris was born July 2, 1959, in Iowa City, Iowa the daughter of Paul and Donna McKeen. She attended schools in Iowa City graduating from West High in 1977. As an undergraduate first at Iowa State University and then, the University of Iowa, she studied business/finance and graduated with a BBA from the University of Iowa in 1981. After embarking on a successful business career in banking and finance, she returned to the MBA program at the University of Iowa graduating with her MBA in 2001 receiving distinction as a member of the Beta Gamma Sigma School of Business Honor Society. She was employed at AEGON as a team leader in securities operations. Kris had been married to Robert Helm. For the past four years, Kris has shared her life with Gene Fritch, whom she was to marry February 27, 2004. Kris’s family includes her loving parents Paul J. McKeen and Donna McKeen. They reside in Iowa City and in Mesa, Arizona. She also leaves behind her siblings and friends; a sister Elizabeth (Beth) Wehrman, her husband Rich, and their two daughters, Carissa and Briana, of Maxwell, Iowa, and two brothers, P. Douglas McKeen, his wife Cynthia Luse-McKeen, and their two children Hanna and Jordan, of Apple Valley, Minnesota, and Timothy (Tim) McKeen of Iowa City; aunts and uncles, Dick and Kathleen McKeen of Iowa City, Pat and Kermit Fessler of Palos Heights, IL, and George and Nancy Hof of Stillwater, MN. She was a person of great spirit, compassion, keen intellect, and hard work – full of love and devotion for her friends and family. Kris had so many passions in life, her family, fiancé’, reading, baking, cooking, good food and good wine, working with Gene fixing up their home, fishing just to relax, working at AEGON, and her deep love of children. remembering... by mary anne mbl radmacher While we will miss her physical presence deeply, we will never forget how much she meant to all of us. She lived measuring herself by her own criteria rather than the judgment of others. she laughed deeply, cried readily and folded herself passionately into chosen arms. she lived vitally and acted on impulse. She managed her days as if she were at game: coach and player both and hard at it. She knelt to be like children and stood tall to aspire to certain greatness. no one liked well her fury but rather loved to be lavished by her generosities. She learned as well as she taught but never learned the grace of ease with error-she preferred to be perfect. We did not often tell her she wasn't and while she was not perfect-she longed to love perfectly, protect and inspire those she cherished and those whom she named "friend". Our days shine less brightly with her absent them. While we will miss her physical presence deeply, we will never forget how much she meant to all of us. Kris, we love you. Rest well in God’s hands. Her family will have private services at Gay & Ciha Funeral and Cremation Services. Memorial Services are planned at St. Andrew Presbyterian Church in Iowa City, for Monday, November 17, 2003, at 1:00 p.m., where a reception will follow. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made in Kris’ memory to benefit a number of children’s charities that Kris cared about.