Lake Bluff Obituary: Helen Kerf, 89

Helen Richman Kerf, age 89 of Lake Bluff, IL died peacefully at home on January 20, 2023. She died of complications from COVID-19 pneumonia. Helen was born in Waverly, IA on February 15, 1933 to Herman and Laura (Rausch) Richmann. She graduated from the University of Iowa with a degree in Food and Nutrition. She was a member of the Church of St Mary, Lake Forest, IL for 57 years.

Helen was known for her extraordinary cakes and pies, her love of crafts and sewing, and her “calm amid the chaos” of raising 5 children. When her children were young, Helen opened a day care in her home and looked after a number of Lake Bluff/Lake Forest children. She worked as the receptionist at Shoreacres in Lake Bluff for years. She even had a short stint selling World Book encyclopedias door to door, driving home one day with a little black and white Lab/Pointer mix puppy from a book buyer; “Happy” was a much-loved member of the family for the next 15 years. For a time, Helen even worked in the local MEG office; details were never discussed! She was an avid sports fan, attending numerous sporting events for children and grandchildren, scorekeeper, and troop leader for Brownies, Girl Scouts and Cub Scouts. In her later years, Helen volunteered at the Most Blessed Trinity Soup Kitchen & Food Pantry in Waukegan. Helen will always be remembered for her energy and her beautiful smile.

Helen is survived by her loving husband of 67 years, Thomas D. Kerf, and her 5 children: Catherine (Stephen) Olnas of Lake Bluff, IL, Julie (Justin) Hansen of Malakoff, TX, Janet (Matthew) Nagel of Lake Forest, IL, David (Mary Beth) Kerf of Lake Bluff, IL, and Anne (Roelif) Loveland of Peru, IL. Helen has 16 grandchildren: Katharine, Andrew and Julie Olnas, David and Michael Padilla, Lauren, Hilary and Skye Hansen, Vicente and Mercedes Nagel, Greta Nagel Collins, Anna and Maxwell Kerf, Sam, Kyle, and Ted Loveland, and 7 great grandchildren: Jax, Alex and Sloane Padilla, Gaddyn Cole, Michael Preston Padilla, Isla Webb and Steel Reitz. Helen is also survived by her brother John D. Richmann of Williams, AZ.

Preceding her in death are her parents Herman (d. 1979) and Laura (d. 1991), and her siblings Herbert (d. 2006), Margaret (d. 2007), and James (d. 2019).

A Celebration of Life will be held in the Spring. Helen’s final resting place will be at the St. Mary Catholic Cemetery in Lake Forest, IL.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you please donate in her memory to the Most Blessed Trinity Soup Kitchen in Waukegan or the Common Ground Community Rescue Network for their work with rescue dogs.

A check may be written out to: The Most Blessed Trinity Soup Kitchen @ Most Blessed Trinity Church 450 Keller Avenue Waukegan, IL 60085

Or follow this link for the Common Ground CRN: https://commonground-crn.org/donate-now/

This obituary was provided by the Kerf family. The views expressed here are the author's own.