Anastasia B. Helten

Anastasia B. Helten, age 101, passed away peacefully on Saturday, July 28, 2018.

Anastasia was born March 31, 1917, in Palmer, Massachusetts to Konstanty and Helena (Walentonowicz) Gralinski. She spent her childhood in Palmer, graduating from high school there. As a young woman, she made her way to New York City during the Great Depression and supported herself by cleaning houses. Anastasia eventually made her way back to Massachusetts where she worked in the State Hospital. Once World War II began, she relocated to California where she worked in support of the war effort at Convair. Anastasia next found work as a civilian secretary on a naval base in South Carolina. It was there that she met her husband, Leo. Being from Iowa, Leo brought Anastasia back to his hometown of Garwin, Iowa where she established their home. They raised their family in Garwin and she worked as the librarian at the Garwin Public Library for many years. She was a member of St. Boniface Catholic Church in Garwin. She loved to read, bake, and visit with neighbors. Her husband, Leo passed away in 1992. After continuing to live on her own, family finally convinced her to move to Des Moines in 2008 to live with her son. Anastasia became a member of Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Des Moines. She continued to share her love of baking with family and friends, constructing recipes from scratch with traditional ingredients. Her greatest joy was family and she loved the family gatherings that her son and his husband would host. She was quite proud of the fact that she was a great-great-grandmother.

She is survived by her children, Denise (Jim) Sheets, Jim (Kathy) Helten, Mike Helten, and Tom (John Sellers) Helten; many grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Leo Helten, her parents, three brothers and three sisters.

There will be a Mass of Christian Burial held at Holy Trinity Catholic Church, 2926 Beaver Avenue, Des Moines on Friday, August 3, 2018, beginning at 11:00 a.m. Family will begin greeting friends at 9:30 a.m. Burial of cremated remains will take place at St. Patrick’s Catholic Cemetery in Winthrop, Iowa at a later date.

Memorial contributions may be directed to Holy Trinity Catholic Church or Alzheimer’s Association/Greater Iowa Chapter.

Condolences may be expressed at www.HamiltonsFuneralHome.com.

The family wishes to extend a heartfelt thank you to Mercy Hospice for their compassionate care of Anastasia.

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