Helen Limberg Reis

Mrs. Helen L. Reis of Frederick, Maryland slipped away into a realm of joy that we cannot imagine on December 30, 2020 at the age of 98. She was born in Long Island City, New York and has lived in Frederick since 1988. In between these places, she lived in East Meadow, New York and Boynton Beach, Florida. She is now in her true home with Jesus, along with Dad and many family and friends.

She was predeceased by her husband of 44 years, Henry T. Reis, an officer in the United States Air Force and veteran of World War II and the Korean conflict. In addition, she was predeceased by her son, H. John Reis of Maryland.

She is survived by one daughter, Carol Mielke of Illinois, her husband David and their three children, Susan, Paul, and Steven, along with eight great grand children. She is also survived by John’s wife, Debbie, of Maryland, and their two children, John and Aimee, along with two additional great grand children. And last, she is survived by one son, Paul W. Reis, also of Frederick, Maryland, along with his wife Jane, and their two daughters, Jessica and Naomi. Jessica and Naomi were her constant companions since their birth in the 1980s and her helpers throughout the years. She was a role model of strength and complete trust in the Lord that they are proud of and that was recognized by many others who knew mom.

Helen attended an all girls school in New York City and graduated two years early at the age of 16. She then worked as a dental assistant for a time before going on to work at a bank on Wall Street. She and dad knew each other from the Lutheran Church that they attended. They were involved in the Walther League where they got to know each other better and had many great times with their friends. After dad enlisted to serve in WWII, they were married and later lived for a time in Louisiana when our father was stationed at Barksdale Air Force Base for advanced flight training. By God’s grace, dad returned from combat in Europe when the war ended relatively unscathed. By this time they had a little girl who was born while dad was in Europe and a little boy born after his return and they began a life together in peace time. Unfortunately, this did not last. Dad was in the Air Force Reserve and was called up for duty in Korea. Mom was left with two young children in New York to keep the home fires burning. She took in home typing to make ends meet and often did the laundry in the middle of the night because there was no other time to do it. Again, by God’s grace, dad came home safely a year later in 1953, then in 1954, their son Paul was born and the family was now complete.

Among Helen’s pleasures were sewing and anything to do with textiles. She made punched rugs, did needlepoint, knitted, crocheted and made clothes. She also enjoyed oil painting and was quite accomplished in her work. She liked to read the news paper and read novels, especially mysteries. In her younger years she taught Sunday School at Calvary Lutheran Church in East Meadow. She and dad were very involved with all aspects of the life of this church. Since 1988 she lived in Crestwood Village here in Frederick. While living here she went on many trips all over North America and enjoyed seeing the sights and learning about different places. At the same time she was a volunteer for the FMH Auxiliary working at Select Seconds and also worked as a volunteer in Crestwood Village keeping the library in order. Another activity that she enjoyed was painting and glazing ceramics with the ceramics club that she met with weekly.

These are just a very few highlights of her life. Hopefully they give you some sense of who she was. And, there are two more, the most important of all, it must be told that she loved her family and loved God.

We miss you mom and we love you.

The family will receive friends at Keeney and Basford Funeral Home, P.A., 106 E. Church Street, Frederick, MD on Wednesday, January 6 from 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM. Funeral service will be held at 1:00 PM. Interment following in Mt. Olivet Cemetery.