Helen Louise Finch Sedrel of Rock Island died Sunday, September 21, at age 98.
A Memorial service will be held at 11 AM, Saturday October 25, at South Park Presbyterian Church, Rock Island. Visitation will be from 9:30am to service time at the church.
She was born August 4, 1916, near Knoxville, Iowa, to the Rev. B.H. And Hazel Spaur Finch. She married Harold Sedrel on the day before her 25th birthday in Mingo, Iowa, in a ceremony officiated by her father. Harold and Helen moved to Washington. D.C., where they lived until 1950 and where their first three children were born. Then they moved to Rock Island, where their fourth child was born and where they both spent the rest of their lives. They were active for decades in South Park Presbyterian Church, where Helen was a Sunday school teacher and deaconess. Helen was also a charter member and past president of Chapter JI PEO Sisterhood. After Harold's death in 1992, Helen continued to live in the family home for almost 10 more years. She played in her church handbell choir, taught in the church's after-school program, and frequently chauffered her neighbors for their errands and appointments. She always welcomed neighbor children into her home and became a surrogate grandmother to many of them. In 2001, with her eyesight failing, Helen moved to Friendship Manor in Rock Island. Last December she transferred to the facility's Silver Cross Pavilion.
She is survived by a sister, Barbara DeReus of Owatonna, Minnesota, and by her children and children-in-law: Wesley Dean Sedrel (Edith Barnard) of Peoria, Illinois; Dr. Nancy Marie Sedrel of Peoria, Illinois; Steve Noble of Dearborn, Michigan; and Rick Sedrel (Deb) of Omaha, Nebraska. Surviving grandchildren are Elizabeth Keest Sedrel (Lisa Lemon) of Des Moines, Iowa; Andrew Sedrel (Meisha) of Albuquerque, New Mexico; Cassie Noble Beyer (Jerry) of Appleton, Wisconsin; Jon Noble (Becky DeGowske) of Royal Oak, Michigan; Christina Sedrel DeJong (Sam) of Chicago, Illinois; and Jeffrey Sedrel of Los Angeles, California. She is also survived by two great-grandchildren, Darrel Sedrel and Mara Lynn Sedrel of Albuquerque, New Mexico.
In addition to her husband, Helen was preceded in death by her parents; two brothers, Thomas Dean Finch and Charles Donald Finch; brother-in-law, Harold DeReus; sister-in-law, Irene Boyer Finch; daughter, Jane Sedrel Noble; and daughter-in-law, Marilyn Keest Sedrel. Although Helen's memory faltered in her final months, she continued to treasure her family. Her faith remained strong, and she looked forward to being reunited with her husband and daughter and other loved ones.

Memorial may be left to South Park Presbyterian Church, Rock Island