Helen Lehmann, 92, was born on a farm in Minnesota. During her childhood she helped her father with the farm by slopping pigs, driving a tractor, and harvesting oats.
As a young woman, she met the love of her life, George Lehmann, who was also a farmer, and they married in 1950. California, the land of opportunity called, so they gave up farming, packed up the old Studebaker and headed west.
There, in the town of Concord, she and George started a janitorial business and later bought a Western Auto hardware store. Then they sold that and opened another Western Auto store in Willits. Business was good until the store burned down. After that they bought the Skunk Train Depot at Willits and operated it for four years. Finally, they bought the Pine Cone Motel and operated that until retirement. They retired and moved to Florence.
During those retirement years they were able to travel across the country in a 36-foot fifth wheel towed by a noisy diesel truck with their grandson Sean. They also enjoyed cruises and vacations in Hawaii, Bermuda, and Puerto Rico. Finally, they moved to Cottage Grove to be close to family.
Helen raised four children, Doug, Tom, Clarice, and Mark. Her passion was gardening, and her yards yielded a bounty of beautiful flowers. Her kitchen was filled with the warmth of good food and family love and her children never tired of her cookies.
Helen is preceded in death by her husband, George, two of her children, Doug and Mark, and her grandson Sean. She is survived by her daughter Clarice Wynkoop and her husband Bill, her son Tom Lehmann and his wife, Lucy, her sister Nell Layman and her husband Lou, her dear friend Karen Dershon, and her grandchildren Larisa and Sylas.
A funeral service was held at Smith-Lund-Mills Funeral Chapel on Saturday, April 3, 2021. Interment held at Pacific Sunset Cemetery in Florence.
