Mrs. Helen M. Kooken Obituary (1931 - 2016)

Helen M. Norton Kooken, 84, a resident of Russellville, died Wednesday, March 16, 2016, at St. Mary's Regional Medical Center. She was born on May 5, 1931, in Louisville, Kentucky to Charles and Mable Bryan and was one of 12 children. She was adopted at the age of 9 by H. R. and Muriel Roberts Norton after the death of her father. She married William E. "Bill" Kooken on October 3, 1952, at Tulsa, Oklahoma and the couple later moved to Russellville where they raised their family. She attended business school and later beauty school and worked for 30 years as a beautician, working at Legacy Lodge Nursing Home and out of her home. She was a prize winning porcelain artist and was a member of the Russellville and Fort Smith Porcelain Clubs. She was a former member of the Hoe and Hope Garden Club and was a member of First Assembly of God at Russellville. She loved making jewelry, shopping and traveling, having traveled all over the world. She spent the majority of her time at the Pope and Yell County Senior Citizen Centers, where she went almost every day to play bingo, eat and visit with her friends. She was preceded in death by her biological parents; her adoptive parents; her husband; a son, Mark Kooken; and several brothers and sisters. Survivors include a son, Mike Kooken of Dover; two daughters and a son-in-law, Pamela and Danny Moudy of Dardanelle and Karen Case of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma; two granddaughters, Jennifer Case and Stephanie Honeycutt, both of Broken Arrow; three sisters, Aliene Bailey of Illinois, Nina Etter of Broken Arrow and Anna Bell Eller of Colorado; a brother, Maynard Bryan of Illinois; and other relatives and friends. The funeral will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, March 18, 2016, at the Humphrey Chapel with the Rev. Mike Norberg officiating. Burial will be in Brearley Cemetery at Dardanelle under the direction of Humphrey Funeral Service. Memorials may be made to the Pope County Senior Citizen Center, 1010 North Rochester Avenue, Russellville, Arkansas 72802.