Helen Josephine Reynolds was born on November 15, 1918 to Margaret & Henry Opbroek. They lived on the family farm a few miles east of Fairfax where they raised thirteen children, having lost one in infancy. Helen was a bit of wild child, often getting herself into little spats that drew the attention of her stern but loving parents. She married Byrne Reynolds, her teenage sweetheart, in 1936, and they spent the next 69 years raising two children and building careers. Byrne was an accountant and Helen earned an online degree in interior design. She spent many years traveling in a van carrying samples and materials for her clients' home design projects. She especially loved working on bachelor pads "because before I came they had such terrible taste!" Helen & Byrne lived at various times in Bonesteel, Pierre, Salina, KS, Omaha, NE and Tucson, AZ.

When Byrne passed away in 2005 Helen moved back to Omaha to Bloomfield Forum apartments near the Westroads shopping center. She loved to shop and would sometimes spend the entire day at the mall. One day, while riding home with the van driver, she said "hurry up Chuck, I want to get home to my friend Jim".   Chuck: "Helen, you live alone."   Helen: "No, my friend Jim. Jim Beam. He lives under my kitchen sink"!   Another favorite story was when she danced on the table at Byrne's sister's wedding reception. Byrne told her to "get down from there right now" and promptly took her home. She blushed every time she told that story.

Helen lived independently at Bloomfield until her 99 ^th birthday. In January of 2018 she moved to a Heritage assisted living facility in Omaha, where she became known as "the feisty redhead". She made friends, enjoyed the coffee shop, café and pub, and attended exercise classes regularly. She loved to puppy-sit her niece's little dog, Mattie, and regularly showed him off during Friday afternoon happy hours. Almost 70 people attended her 100 ^th birthday party at Heritage. The artwork on the birthday cake was an old lady dancing on a table.

Helen was preceded in death by her husband, Byrne and ten brothers and sisters. She is survived by sisters Sylvia Hausman and Florence (Penny) Horst, and brother Henry (Imogene) Opbroek, her son Jim (Hilda) Reynolds, daughter Carol Gillen, grandsons Russell (Theresa) and Matt, and great grandsons Jonathan & Joseph.