Surrounded by her family on Palm Sunday, April 13, 2025, Heaven gained the most beautiful soul in Helen Loraine Fellows. She was 96, formerly of Windsor, Colorado, and a longtime resident of Loveland, Colorado. Helen was born Helen Loraine Frerichs on January 30, 1929, in her childhood home on the family farm in Fairfax, Missouri, to Lillie Myrtle (Weltmer) Frerichs and Adolph Theodore Frerichs. She was the youngest of three siblings: Beulah Juanita, Frances Virginia, and Adolph Tommy. Helen never knew her father, Adolph, as he passed when she was 13 months old. Nor did she know her sister Frances, who passed at the age of 9. That left her mother to run the family farm with the help of Beulah and Tommy. Helen’s older sister and brother were her universe. She grew up attending country school until her mother decided she needed a better education in town. Although Lillie had little time for her golden-haired child, she did her best to provide Helen with opportunities to enhance her gifts. Lillie took her to Tarkio College during her youth to study piano under Arthur Lindstrom, a future Julliard professor. Under his direction, Helen became a very talented pianist, a gift that the entire family would enjoy through the years.

At the beginning of WWII, her brother Tommy, by then a U.S. Army Air Corps pilot, was killed. This affected Helen’s heart immensely. It began to heal when John Edward “Jack” Fellows stepped into Helen’s world her senior year of high school. Fresh home from the Navy after serving in WWII and D-Day, he was eager to find love and settle down. On Easter Sunday, 1946, Jack and Helen went on their first date. He was smitten with “Blondie,” as he fondly called Helen. She graduated from Fairfax High School, gave up her dream of pursuing music in college, and the rest is history. They were married February 16, 1947, and began marital life as hardworking cattle and hog farmers, while still helping Jack’s father farm his crops. In 1948, Tommy Bryce and Terry Lee were born. Six weeks later, they suffered a heartbreaking loss when little Terry passed away from SIDS. Daughters Kerry Ann arrived on the scene in 1952 and Alicia Lynn in 1955. The young family ventured to Colorado in 1957 and made Loveland their home.

Helen dedicated her whole being to her family. While Jack worked at the Loveland Post Office, did other moonlighting jobs, and joined the USCG Reserves, Helen kept life organized for the kids. In the 1960s she spread her wings and began a career as Curator of Collections at The Loveland Museum. She retired from the museum after 20 years of service. Helen was an amazing cook (especially cherry pies), an immaculate housekeeper, a meticulous organizer, and a loving and supportive mother/grandmother. Helen was the best at so many things: Nursing her children back to health, volunteering at church and schools, having the most beautiful cursive handwriting, being well-read with countless books, keeping up on world news and the weather, storytelling of family facts and legends, listening and being genuinely interested in others’ lives, giving thoughtful advice when warranted, and welcoming everyone into her home as her own. She was an amazing seamstress. The arts of crocheting and quilting were a mere forté. The entire family benefited from her love of music and her talent as a pianist: Tommy creating his own “Beatles” band with his electric guitar, Kerry buying every 45 and LP album in sight, and Alicia playing her violin while being accompanied by her remarkable mom.

Helen always put everyone else’s needs above her own. She traveled with Jack to as many places as time would allow, from the East Coast to the West, to Hawaii, and to the beaches of Normandy, France. She also held steadfast to the treadmill of chasing her children and grandchildren’s activities. Her grandchildren and great-grandchildren were near and dear to her heart. When she was 75, her health began a downward spiral beginning with open-heart surgery. But even more debilitating to her was the condition of macular degeneration. Losing her eyesight created a loss of independence and a loss of joy, but no bitterness. Jack and Helen were faithful members of the First United Methodist Church in Loveland for over 60 years. Through this devotion, and their devotion to each other, they were infinitely tied at the hip. When Jack passed on Memorial Day of 2009, it took the spark right out of Helen.

Helen is survived by her daughters, Kerry Anderson (Mark) of Greybull, Wyoming, and Alicia Mitchell (John) of Windsor; daughter-in-law, Virginia Fellows of Berthoud, Colorado; former daughter-in-law, Kayoko Sawamura of Columbia, Maryland; sister-in-law, Marcia Brewer of Rolla, Missouri; grandchildren, Cynthia Sawamura (Richard Alexander) of Columbia, Lynn Sawamura of Godfrey, Illinois, Kim Bailey (Mike) of Johnstown, Colorado, Hillary Jones (Sam Yeates) of Basin, Wyoming, and Justin Mitchell (Lacey) and Levi Mitchell (Whitney) of Windsor; adopted grandchildren, Terry Fellows (Pam) of Rocklin, California, Marty Fellows (Diane) of Lone Tree, Iowa, Rosalie Lawrence and Connie Cook (Kevin) of Berthoud; eight great-grandchildren, Tiffany (Josh), Akira, Austin, Haylee, Marley, Blakely, Jasper, and William; one great-great-grandchild, Kobe; and several nieces, nephews, cousins, and special friends. She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Jack Fellows; sisters, Beulah Weedin and Frances Frerichs; brother, Tommy Frerichs; sons, Terry Lee Fellows and Tommy Bryce Fellows; son-in-law, Dean Jones; and adopted grandson, Richard Fellows.

A Celebration of Life will be held at 1:00 p.m. Thursday, May 15, at The First United Methodist Church of Loveland. Inurnment will be at 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, July 9, at Pleasant Ridge Cemetery, Fairfax. In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made in Helen’s name to Beverly Farm Foundation in Illinois (beverlyfarm.org) or Craig Hospital in Colorado (craighospital.org). Arrangements are under the direction of Schooler Funeral Home, Fairfax. Online condolences may be left at www.andrewshannfuneralhome.com.