Helen (Greenwood) Sears

Helen Sears, 101, of Geneseo, formerly of Rock Island, passed away peacefully in her sleep on Thursday, March 9, 2017, at Geneseo Good Samaritan Village.  A funeral service celebrating her life will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, April 21st at South Park Presbyterian Church in Rock Island. The family will receive friends for a time of visiting and light refreshments beginning at 1:00 p.m. prior to the funeral service.  Reverend David Esche will officiate.  Interment will follow at Chippiannock Cemetery, Rock Island.  Memorials may be made to Geneseo Good Samaritan Village.  Vandemore Funeral Home & Crematory is assisting the family with arrangements.

Helen Frances Greenwood was born in 1916 to Bess and Harry Greenwood. Helen raced through school, graduated at 16, and worked in law offices in Hill City, Kansas.  Married to Harold J. Sears (1910-1991) in 1936, they began a family and settled in the Quad-Cities area.  She was loved and cared for by staff members of Geneseo Good Samaritan Village for several years.  Her 101st birthday celebration took place on February 1, 2017.

Helen was active in Eastern Star, Central and South Park Presbyterian churches, quilting guilds, and was a life-long reader, learner, and crossword puzzler. She loved to travel and made friends wherever she went.

Helen Sears seemed the self-proclaimed ambassador for the State of Kansas.  She professed her love of the open landscape and collected an array of Wizard of Oz and Dorothy memorabilia.  Helen’s friends and family were indeed fortunate to have had her company for over one hundred years.

Her survivors include her sister, Betty Porter (Clark) and brother, Ralph (Ellen), Greenwood. Surviving children are H. Dennis (Rene Wood) Sears, Mary Sears Koeber, and Sheila (Duncan Palmer) Sears. She leaves seven grandchildren, ten great-grandchildren, and seven great-great-grandchildren - with a new baby on the way - and numerous nieces and nephews.

In addition to her husband, Harold, she was preceded in death by brother, Marcus (Enid) Greenwood, and daughter, Harriet Anne (Ralph) Alvis. 

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