Obituary posted by : Stephen Delia , Son | Person Description: | Helen Annis Krueger
| Affectionately known as "Nana" to all her grandchildren, adopted children and all the children she cared for in the more than forty years she conducted her day care service at 1305 Cleveland Ave. San Mateo CA. Helen passed away peacefully in the company of her family at her current address of 680 Johanna Ave. #1 Sunnyvale, CA 94085 at 12:35 AM July 22, 2006. All condolences to her family may be received at that address. Helen is survived by her sons Stephen, David, and Jim. Also James, Carlton and Shana, her adopted children. Melissa, Laura, Clint, Matthew, Michelle, Nathan and Rikki Lynn, her grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her daughter Katherine. Helen was loved, admired and respected by all who knew her. Her love, care and giving nature knew no limits. Funeral services will be held at 11:00AM on August 6th, 2006 at the Neptune Society Chapel 1645 El Camino Real Belmont California. For more information call the family at (408) 739-1134 Service Information: | Helen Annis Krueger
Funeral services will be held at 11:00AM on August 6th, 2006 at the Neptune Society Chapel 1645 El Camino Real Belmont California. For more information call the family at (408) 739-1134 |  Contributor : Shana Janssen | Aunt Helen was and is the kind of woman that I will continually strive to be. She gave and gave until there was nothing left to give and somehow found a way to give more. She showed me what it means to be a strong woman, a good person and that I could do it on my own. Aunt Helen You will always mean the world to me and I know that you are finally at peace. I LOVE YOU!!!! Contributor : Stephen Delia (son) It's All About Mom, Helen A. Krueger, Also Lovingly Known, As Nana Hard work and more of it was all that Helen ever knew. As a young girl born into a farming family, in Alabama, her chores seemed never ending. As if this life style was not hard enough, her work load was compounded with the sudden passing of her mother in childbirth, early on in her life. As the oldest surviving female in the family, the duties of cooking, cleaning, washing the laundry and caring for her siblings fell to her. Motherhood was thrust upon Helen, not with the joy of having her own first born to enrich the experience, such as most people enjoy, but as a sudden, overwhelming, and awesomely unfair responsibility. However, she shouldered her duties and endured her hardships with stoic grace. One might expect her to be jaded towards the idea of motherhood by the experience of her childhood. Instead she left the farm to have five children of her own, Perry, Stephen, David, Kathy and Jim. Adopt six more children and run a day care service from her home for close to forty years. Of the six, three of the children, Melissa, Laura, and Clint were her deceased daughter Katherine's. Then following the death of her best friend Vi, she adopted and cared for, Carlton, James, and Shana the three children of Vi's deceased daughter Gale. I can still hear her scolding a child and asking "Why'd you do that ??? Say !!! If you knew Helen at all, you knew that children were her only concern in life. She cared little for anything else. She could go through all of her huge collection of photographs and name every child in them. After years of seeing the little ones grow into adults I can only marvel at her ability to coax them into becoming the wonderful people they are today. Every child that came her way did not merely have their basic needs met, but each one understood they were loved and cared for as well. The building that housed her and her day care became a second home for all that came through it's doors seeking help and understanding. Each parent that brought their child to her, knew within a short time that they had chosen the right person to watch over and help raise their child. The vast circle of love created by this wonderful woman's care was awesome to behold. The gratitude from the parents of these children was evident every year at Christmas time, when all the cards and letters came pouring in. They covered the table, counters, bar and console TV, vying for a place to be seen. Each one filled with words of thanks for inviting us into your home in our time of need. Each one priceless in it's expression of love. Each one lovingly addressed to "Nana" or "Mom" She became dismayed by the dyer condition of Parkside Park. While other neighborhood parks were well landscaped with lots of playground equipment for kids to play on, Parkside Park was full of broken glass, mud holes, and two broken basketball back boards. Helen persistently insisted that the city to do something to improve the park, until channel seven news caught wind of the story and aired it. The publicity prompted the City of San Mateo into action, and today the park is clean, well landscaped, with a merry-go-round, swings, monkey bars, sand boxes, basketball and tennis courts and lots of happy kids. Cross words or vulgarities were not in her vocabulary. She was always the epitome of southern hospitality, grace and charm. Her elegance and sparkling Irish wit charmed all who had even brief encounters with her. If you were her friend, and you needed a place to stay or a little money she was always quick to help you out. You often hear about people "giving till it hurts" Helen should be the standard by which true giving can be gauged. She gave till her debts consumed her home, and then, even as her health was failing her, she was still trying to give some more. Those of us who were privileged to know her, could not help but love this wonderful woman. Please God give her all the best that heaven has to offer, as she has surely earned a special place there by all that she has done here on earth. Eulogy by Helen's son Stephen. | ||||||||||||||