Helen I. Macconnell

Helen I. MacConnell, our beloved mother and grandmother, went home to be with the Lord June 28, 2014 at the age of 92. Helen Irene Cable was born on April 4, 1922 in Aberdeen, Montana to James Ernest Cable of Sugar Grove, North Carolina and Anna Katherine Schillreff born in Russia and raised in Hardin, Montana. She was the oldest child of three, and was preceded in death by her parents and sister, Anna Louise Gazur. Her sister Julia Toperzer is living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. As a child she lived in Ranchester, Wyoming where she graduated from Ranchester High School in 1940. During WWII, she worked for the Department of the Navy and was stationed at Clearfield Naval Base in Salt Lake City, Utah. While at Clearfield, she met and married Daniel Sterling Murdock and had two daughters, Karen and Sheila. She returned to Ranchester and later married Sheriff Benjamin MacConnell and together they moved to Texas where Sheriff sold Kaiser/Frasier Automobiles. She returned again to Ranchester where she had a son, Benjamin, and raised her children there. Helen worked for the Sheridan Veterans Administration Hospital for 21 years and at Sheridan College for 19 years. She graduated from Sheridan College in 1985, at the age of 63, with an Associate of Arts degree. She moved from Ranchester in 2000 and lived with her daughter, Sheila, until moving to the Red Bud Village in Plainville in 2012 so she could be close to her son. She was active in her church and was always praying for others and calling those who were homebound or ill. She loved singing in the choir, teaching Sunday School, which she did for 57 years, and visiting shut-ins. She sang until the end and 2 of her favorite hymns were “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” and “Meet Me There.” She loved people and very few remained strangers. She also liked gardening and raising her children. She was preceded in death by both of her husbands, Sheriff in 1958 and Dan in 1985, 2 granddaughters, Merihelen Lorraine MacConnell in 1982 and Katherine Ann Martin in 1995. Helen is survived by her children Karen Martin (Donald) Laramie, Wyoming, Sheila Cherni (Michael) Sheridan, Wyoming and Reverend Benjamin MacConnell (Sharon) Natoma, Kansas. Her grandchildren Dawn Smith, Cheyenne WY, Kimberly Federer, Hudson, CO., David Martin, Cheyenne, WY, Bonnie Cherni, Hawaii, Laurie Czerny, Buffalo, WY, Michael MacConnell, Lincoln, NE, Matthew MacConnell and Mark MacConnell, Natoma, KS. She has several great grandchildren, Dillon and Kenzey Smith, Alexander and Isaac Federer, Ruth Eckley, Gabriel and Gunner MacConnell and Harley and Michael D. MacConnell. Reception: There will be lunch and reception following the service in the church basement.