Helen M. Behrendt

Helen M. Behrendt, 86, of Pontiac died at 8 p.m. Friday (Sept. 10, 2010) at Evenglow Lodge Tjardes Health Center, Pontiac.

Her funeral will be at 1 p.m. Wednesday at Duffy-Baier-Snedecor Funeral Home, Pontiac. The Rev. Gretchen Stinebaugh will officiate. Burial will be in St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery, Pontiac. Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Tuesday at the funeral home.

Memorials may be made to the American Cancer Society or OSF Hospice.

She was born Oct. 27, 1923, in Mishawaka, Ind., to Russell and Ilo Kleckner Jaqua.

She married Edmund L. Behrendt on June 15, 1946, at Mishawaka, Ind. He died Saturday, Jan. 23, 1999.

She is survived by two daughters, Marilee (David) Williams, Pontiac; and Barbara (Craig) Pothuisje, Bradenton, Fla.; a brother, Walter (Doris) Jaqua, South Bend, Ind.; a grandchild, Anna M. Holohan, Dwight; and several nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents and sister and brother-in-law, Wanda and Bob Stutzman.

She was a member of the St. Mary's Catholic Married Couples from 1950 to 1960, Athenia Literary Club, and the Zonta Club. She was a past member of the Cosmo Dance Club in Pontiac with her husband.

As members of the Illinois Funeral Directors Association they enjoyed trips to Russia, Greece, Holland, Italy, Hawaii and the Caribbean.

She also was a member of the First United Methodist Church and was an active member of the choir in Pontiac.

She and her husband, Edmund, purchased Irwin Funeral Home from Ira Irwin in 1952, becoming owners and operators of Behrendt Funeral Home and Ambulance Service in Pontiac and Watson Funeral Home in Odell. They sold the service to Jerry Duffy in 1980.

Before coming to Pontiac in 1952 she worked in Chicago as a secretary while Ed worked for Lain and Sons Funeral Home in Chicago.

She was a graduate of Mishawaka High School.

They both loved living and working in Pontiac and serving the families of Livingston County over the years. Ed was missed by the community in 1999 and Helen will be missed by all she knew, especially by the family she leaves behind.