Helga Troester Smith's Obituary
Helga Eva Smith passed away on February 8, 2024 at 12:05 pm in Mansfield, Texas. She was born February 11, 1936 to Eugen and Katherina Troester in Ziegelhausen, Germany, and had six siblings. Helga attended school in Ziegelhausen and then had apprenticeships as a seamstress and in a butcher shop. She was an excellent seamstress and cook.
Helga met her late husband Clarence Reid Smith at a café in Germany in the 1950’s when he was stationed there for the U.S. Army. She liked that he was dressed in a nice suit and had a wave in his hair, and he asked her to dance to the three piece band that was playing. They married in Heidelberg, Germany in 1955 and had two daughters, Sybil and Karen.
Helga was a career military wife, relocating back and forth between the U.S. and Germany several times over her husband’s 20 year military career with her family. She enjoyed traveling across Europe and the U.S. The family tent camped in the early years, often near beaches in various countries. They lived in Germany, New York, Texas, Indiana, Georgia and Virginia, finally retiring and building a home in Texas.
Helga’s first priority was her family, but she also enjoyed many other activities throughout her life. In Virginia she was active in the Greenbriar Women’s Club and was the official seamstress for the Washington Redskins professional football team for many years in the 1970’s. In Texas she was actively involved in a local German Club and Quilting Club. A favorite activity in the quilting club was making lap quilts which would be donated to wounded soldiers at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. She loved music and gathering with family and friends.
Helga is preceded in death by her parents Eugen and Katherina Troester, sisters Anni Reinig and Elfriede Troester, and brothers Gerhard Troester, Guenter Troester, Fritz Troester, and Harry Troester.
Memories of Helga will be cherished forever by daughter Sybil Strawser, son-in-law Garry Strawser; daughter Karen Stewart, son-in-law Marvin Stewart, Jr; grandson Matthew Jenkins; granddaughter Lena Carrie, grandson-in-law Chad Carrie; granddaughter Heather Morrison; grandson Anthony Strawser and Emily Buckner; great granddaughters Kaylee Morrison and Maddie Carrie; grandpup Bandit, great-grandpups Penny and Buddy; and a host of other relatives and friends.
Donations can be made to Alzheimers Association or American Diabetes Association, causes that Helga supported.
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