Obituary of Helen Harker

Helen “Dede” Harker, age 68 of Oxford died Monday, November 7, 2005, at the Lantern Park Nursing and Rehab Center in Coralville following a lengthy illness. Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m., Thursday, November 10, 2005, at the St. Mary’s Auditorium in Oxford. Burial will be at the Oxford Cemetery. Visitation will be from 4 to 7pm Wednesday at Gay & Ciha Funeral and Cremation Service – Oxford Chapel. A memorial fund has been established in Dede’s memory. Online condolences may be sent for her family through our website @www.gayandciha.com. Helen M. “Dede” Vermace Harker was born June 12, 1937, in Sturgis, SD, the daughter of Cyril and Wilma (Carney) Vermace. Her family settled in the Oxford area in 1950, where she attended schools graduating from Oxford High School in 1956. She married Dale Harker June 14, 1956, in Oxford. For over twenty-seven years she was employed at Amana Refrigeration retiring in 1994 as the first woman foreman. Dede enjoyed her family and friends, doing crafts, ceramics, crossword puzzles, quilts, watching the Chicago Cubs, traveling and camping with her family. Her family includes her husband, Dale; children, Barb Harker-Palmer and her husband, Tim Palmer of Oxford, Randy Harker and his wife, Teresa of Oxford, and Laurie Harker of Minneapolis, MN; sister, Martha “Toots” Parks of Hiawatha; brothers, Jim Vermace of Solon, Bob Vermace of Iowa City, and Charles “Mort” Vermace of Oxford; and several nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, and her sister, Jeanne Bischof. Gay & Ciha Funeral and Cremation Service of Oxford and Iowa City is caring for Dede’s family and her services.