Patricia Helliker

June 6, 1927 - February 2, 2019

Patricia Helliker passed away on February 2, 2019. She is survived by her husband of 62 years, James, her three children, Paul Helliker and his wife, Stacy, Jean Dunkirk, and Carol Helliker and her husband, David Luther, her five grandchildren, Katie Dunkirk, Nora Duncritts and her husband, James, Danielle Luther, Stephen Luther and Christopher Luther, and numerous nieces and nephews. Pat was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma June 6, 1927. After growing up in Kansas City, Missouri, she was the first in her family to graduate from college, obtaining a degree in English literature from the University of Kansas. Pat and James settled in Houston after raising their children in Oklahoma and London, England. Pat loved to travel, and visited over 50 countries on every continent but Antarctica. She was fearless, and always game for adventures. In her fifties, she took belly dancing lessons and rode camels and elephants in India, in her sixties, she went parasailing in Mexico and skiing in Colorado, in her seventies she went river rafting in Oregon and on a photo safari to Kenya, in her eighties, she went snorkeling in Hawaii and dog sledding in Alaska. Pat enthusiastically supported her children and grandchildren’s education, from encouraging math skills by teaching grandchildren to play black jack as toddlers by using M&Ms as chips, to cheering at every high school, college and graduate school graduation. She was an avid collector, buying art in Japan, furniture in Hong Kong, rugs in Pakistan, antiques and glassware in Europe and America, lacquerware in Russia and jewelry around the world. She was artistic, demonstrating her accomplishments in painting, clothing, drapery and decorating, including designing a home to showcase her extensive collections of glass, antiques and fine porcelain. Good food was important, and she was an excellent cook, as recognized by family and gourmet dinner club members. She considered cake to be an appropriate breakfast food for grandchildren, and shared her recipes with family after extracting a commitment not to reveal her secrets outside the family. She also made sure her beloved dog, Francine, enjoyed a well prepared morsel of filet mignon on a regular basis. Pat was an active member of St John Vianney, and a stalwart supporter of the Charity Guild of Catholic Women. She was an avid and competitive bridge player, reader, and cross-word puzzle master. She drove like Mario Andretti, except when she played Jingle Bells on the accelerator. A funeral mass will be held at St John Vianney on Monday February 11 at 10:30 am, with a reception to follow on the church campus. In lieu of flowers please consider a donation in her memory to Charity Guild of Catholic Women, 1203 Lovett Houston, Tx 77006.