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Betty L. Helwig, 83, formerly of Thompsontown, passed away on Thursday, July 23, 2026 at her residence in Leesburg, VA.
Born on Oct. 3, 1942, in Thompsontown, Juniata County, she is a daughter of the late Roy H. Sr. and Hannah Lou (Kipp) Burns.
On Aug. 20, 1967, she married her late husband, Samuel R. Helwig, with whom she was blessed to share over 56 years of marriage before his passing on June 23, 2024.
She is survived by one son, Samuel R. Helwig and his wife, Amy, of Leesburg, VA; one grandson, Nathaniel Helwig; and two siblings, Roy H. Burns, Jr. of McAlisterville and Connie L. Wagner, of Thompsontown.
Mrs. Helwig was a 1960 graduate of East Juniata High School in Cocolamus. She went on to graduate from Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove in 1964, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Education, later achieving her Master's degree equivalent through various professional courses taken throughout her career.
After college, she taught English and history at West Snyder High School, Chief Logan High School in Mifflin County, and finally Westerly Parkway Junior High School in State College before taking a leave of absence in 1973 to care for her newborn son. She returned to her alma mater, East Juniata, in 1995, teaching English there until her retirement in 2009.
She believed strongly that teaching was her true calling, viewing it as, in her words, âthe responsibility... to inspire the desire for learning and the love of reading.ã This devotion to education extended beyond the public school classroom and into her church family. She was dedicated to teaching both Sunday School and Bible School, and she actively served on the board of the Bunkertown Brethren Church preschool.
Deeply interested in local history, she was a member of the Juniata County Historical Society. She found joy in reading, spending time with family and friends, and collecting pattern glass, especially pieces from the 1876 Centennial.
Funeral Services will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026, at the Bunkertown Brethren Church, 52 Bunkertown Road, McAlisterville with Pastor Wes Stahl officiating. Interment will follow in the Goodwill Cemetery, McAlisterville.
A viewing will be held from 10 a.m. until the time of the funeral services at 11 a.m. on Saturday at the church
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in Mrs. Helwig's memory can be made to the Bunkertown Brethren Church, for the benefit of the church's Vacation Bible School Program, 52 Bunkertown Road, McAlisterville, PA 17049.
Arrangements have been entrusted to the Brown Funeral Homes, Inc., 111 Westfall St., McAlisterville.
Online condolences and tributes can be sent to the family at www.brownfuneral homesinc.com.