Helen Eickenhorst

It is with deep sadness that the family of Helen Dale Eickenhorst announces her passing due to natural causes on July 27, 2018 at the age of 76.  She will be lovingly remembered by her eldest son Bruce Carter, daughter Deborah Carter, her son Bryan Butler, and his wife Robyn Butler.  Helen will also be remembered by her four grandchildren, Jeremy, Stephanie, Kaitlin, and Kelci.  She will be forever remembered by her extended family and numerous dear friends whom she has touched throughout her treasured life.

Helen was a strong, incredibly loving woman who will be remembered by her wit, sense of humor, strength, and her will and desire to love with all of her heart.  Helen worked as a seamstress for many years, as well as a home healthcare worker, helping others to overcome their own battles with illness and old age before succumbing to it herself.  She had a love of cars, which she got from her father, Harleys, old movies, cross-stitching, crochet, drawing, and good ole’ rock and roll music.  She will be greatly missed by family and friends.

Visitation services will be held on August 6th at 10am, followed by a memorial service at 11am at All Faiths Funeral Home, 8507 N Interstate 35 Frontage Rd, Austin, TX 78753.

Helen was born in the dusty west texas town of Hooks, Texas, the only child of Gaylord & Dedie Hamby.  Helen had fond memories of her father, who was a mechanic. This forever gave her the love of cars & motorcycles.  It wouldn't take long talking with Helen that you would realized she knew quite a bit about cars.  This surprised many auto mechanics and folks over the years.  Tragically though, Helen lost her father by the age of 10, a loss she never forgot and shadowed her whole life.  She was raised by her mother, aunt & uncle in Crosbyton, Texas.

She worked for her keep as a waitress from a early age in the family’s diner.  Helen married at a young age to Clark Carter.  She had two children, Bruce Allen Carter and Deborah Gay Carter. Helen’s young life would be marred with tragedy when she lost her husband to an accident.

Eventually, she moved with her two children to Waco, Texas where she lived for many years, where she met her second husband through mutual acquaintances in the mid 70’s.  She married Robert Keith Butler and had one child, Bryan Neal Butler.  “Bob” was a self employed painter and paperhanger who enjoyed buying and selling antiques. The two loved to go “antiquing”, back then called “junking”.  Helen and Bob lived on a small picturesque farm in Spring Valley Texas where they raised Bryan before returning to Waco.  Their marriage was loving but it wasn't to last, although the friendship always did.

In the early 90’s, Helen re-married again to Dan Eickenhorst, and moved to Lott Texas.  Dan did a lot of odd jobs, but what Helen loved most was the cowboy work he did in and around Falls Co. They would stay at many modest “cowboy” houses located on ranch lands. This is what Helen liked, the subtle beauty that rural Texas has to offer that most of us drive by everyday and take for granted.  It also offered her the solitude that she felt she needed.  Again, the tragedies never seemed to stop, and she lost her third husband, Dan, in a auto accident while hauling a load of rock.

Helen lived and worked in Lott Texas for nearly the rest of her life.  She worked for a short while as a seamstress before working in the field of home healthcare services.  Helen found solace in home healthcare work.  Loving and caring for others came easily to Helen.  She ultimately saw many people and friends she cared for pass over the years in her small community.  Later in life, she re-kindled her relationship with Bob, only to lose him to a heart attack in ‘03.

To know Helen is to know the depths of her love. To know that depth you have to understand all of the tragedies beset onto her life. But none of them compared to the first, the loss of her father. Whom she idolised and loved so very much. She never recovered from that loss, certainly never forgot it.

“When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.” -Her favorite writer Kahlil Gibran

She was at times a serious woman, while at other times funny and playful, but always a no-nonsense woman.  Strong, independent, and a progressive thinker.  She read a lot of books about obscure things, many of which she shared with me, her son, Bryan.  She taught me to read at exceptionally early age, teaching me that knowledge is power and reading is the key. She was searching for the “meaning of it all”.  She looked for answers to her own pain.

There are so many things that my mother taught me and instilled in me to be a better person.  She taught me compassion for people and animals, and respect for life.  She taught me respect for all people, regardless of race, creed, religion, etc, and the value of each person.  That I was equal to all and that all were equal to one another.

There are no words I know to describe the loss that I feel, it has carved deep into my heart, to depths I dare not go often.  She was my strength and my heart.

“Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.” -Kahlil Gibran