Helen K. Roemer Laux

Laux, Helen Katherine Roemer
Waupaca, WI (formerly of Appleton)
Age 87, passed away peacefully on Monday, April 13, 2009 at Bethany Home in Waupaca. She was a resident of Appleton for more than 60 years. Helen was born in Ashland, Kentucky on Sept. 4, 1921, the daughter of the late Henry Geiger and Harriet (Malone) Geiger. Her childhood years were spent in Grayson, KY where she was raised primarily by her grandmother, Helen Malone. She graduated from Pritchard High School in Grayson, and while working after high school in her uncle Frank Malone's Sweet Shoppe, met a handsome young lineman who was working for Killoren Electric Company of Appleton, WI on a Rural Electrification Administration project in northeastern Kentucky. They eloped to Appleton where Helen married Clarence (Casey) Roemer in 1941. They enjoyed 35 years of marriage, until his sudden death in 1976.
Helen and Casey were tireless organizers and workers for the Red Smith Banquet during its inception and early years. She was a loving housewife all of her life. She is a former member of St. Joseph (Appleton) Christian Mothers Association, pink lady volunteer at St. Elizabeth Hospital gift shop, and Cub Scout Den Mother. She loved fishing, bird watching, bluegrass music, and weekends at the cabin on Lake Winneconne.
Eight years after Casey's death, Helen married Harold (Harry) A. Laux on Sept. 4, 1982 and they enjoyed 21 years together until his death in early 2004. During her marriage to Harry, she continued to share a love for fishing, and greatly enjoyed traveling in their 5th wheel trailer to numerous state and national parks, and especially to warmer climates during winter months.
Helen is survived by her two children, Thomas (Linda) Roemer and Catherine (Craig) Smith; three grandchildren, Brendon (Melanie) Smith, Jason (Liz) Smith and Susan (William) Martino; one great-grandchild, Cooper Smith; nine step-children, Jean Leary, Nancy (Dennis) Menzel, David (Laura) and Robert (Cynthia) Laux, Mary (Robin) Benton, Thomas (Marcia) and James (Mary) Laux, Sandra (Brian) Pufahl, Susan (Dennis) Hintz; fifteen step-grandchildren; thirteen step-great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by Casey and Harold, and a son David who died shortly after birth. She had no brothers or sisters.
The family wishes to thank the kind and compassionate staff of Gardenview Assisted Living in Menasha, and especially the Bethany Home in Waupaca for their wonderful love and care throughout the past five years.