Mass of Christian Burial for Helen Higgins, age 86, of Naper, NE will be held on Thursday, July 18 at 10:30 a.m. at the Ss Peter & Paul Catholic Church in Butte, NE. Burial will be in the Sacred Heart Catholic Cemetery in Naper, NE. There will be a prayer service on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Ss Peter & Paul Catholic Church in Butte. Visitation will be one hour prior to both services.
Helen Irene (Schmitz) Higgins was born Oct. 8, 1932 to Joseph and Bertha (Blum) Schmitz. Helen attended grade school at Naper and graduated from Naper High School in 1950.
On Nov. 28, 1950, she was united in marriage to Mervin John Higgins at Naper, Neb. To this union five children were born: Kathy, Joe, Cindy, Rich, and Steve.
Merv and Helen lived their entire married life of 64 years on a farm/ranch southwest of Naper. They loved farming and ranching. Helen was Merv’s “Righthand-Boss”. She was an avid fisherman and hunter. Helen was also an accomplished quilter and a member of the Rosebud Quilt Guild. She was a member of Sts Peter & Paul Catholic Church, Butte, Neb.
Helen is survived her children Kathy (Ed) Peppel of Butte, NE, Joe (Mary) Higgins of Naper, NE, Rich (Janice) Higgins of Bow Valley, NE, and Steve (Denise) Higgins of Winner, SD. Her son-in-law Mike (Linda) Schochenmaier. Her Brother Leonard (Thelma) Schmitz of Naper, NE; Brothers-in-Law Robert Peppel of Burke, SD and Roger Roth of Spencer, NE; Sister-in-Law Margaret Schmitz of Bonesteel, SD; 16 grandchildren and 25 great grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband Mervin in 2015; parents Joe & Bertha Schmitz; parents in law, John & Ada Higgins; daughter Cindy Schochenmaier; great grandson Brady Peppel; brothers: Donald Schmitz & John Schmitz; sister Bennetta Roth; brothers-in-Laws: Pat Higgins, Max Higgins, & Howard Stahlecker; sisters-in-law: Inez Schmitz, Janet Higgins, Joyce Stahlecker, & Lorraine Peppel.