Helen Darlene Boatman

Helen Darlene (Kling) Boatman, daughter of Ruben and Esther (Stark) Kling, was born on September 21, 1941 in Belle Fourche, South Dakota. She passed away after a short battle from lung cancer on January 24, 2024 in Lincoln, Nebraska at the age of 82 years, 4 months and 3 days.

Helen was the oldest of five children.  She attended school in Nisland, South Dakota and graduated from Nisland High School. She was baptized and confirmed at Nisland Lutheran Church. Helen attended SCC in Fairbury in the early 1980’s, studying accounting and business.

Throughout her lifetime, Helen lived in Nisland, Belle Fourche, and Rapid City, South Dakota; San Bernardino, California; El Paso, Texas; Hebron, Nebraska; Garden City, Kansas; and rural Nelson, Nebraska, where she enjoyed her retirement. She was married to Elton Echols, whom she had two sons with, David and Wade. Then was married to Gary Boatman and had twins, Darla and Darin.

Helen never met a stranger, was witty, an open book of knowledge, and a hard worker. During her life, Helen was employed as a secretary, waitress, maid, bartender, ticket seller at the Deshler Horse Races, census taker, cook at Chief’s Mess in Davenport and the Carleton cafe, welder at Reinke’s in Deshler, completed income tax returns, and refinished antique furniture for 2 antique stores she owned in Hebron and Fairmont, Nebraska.

Helen had many talents and was known for her sewing, cooking, crocheting, and knitting. She won many sewing awards as a teenager and continued her beautiful sewing skills throughout her adult life sewing clothes for all of her children, as well as for herself. Helen sewed both men and women’s suits, dresses, swimsuits, shirts, pants, coats, blankets, and more. She was known for her creative Halloween costumes she made for her twins, Darla and Darin, when they were in grade school, which won them many first place prizes at the annual Hebron Halloween parade. To name a few of their costumes, Helen made them up to be Raggedy Ann & Andy, Uncle Sam & Miss America, Mr. & Mrs. King Kong where she glued prosthetics to their faces, 2 members of the Kiss band, Captain Hook & Peter Pan and a Barbie doll as Tinker Bell with wings that lit up, Dracula & a witch, and chinch bugs because of an infestation of chinch bugs that previous summer.  One year she made her son, Wade, into a grandfather clock for his high school Halloween dance and only had 30 mins to make it. No one recognized him at the dance and he won first place. Helen was an excellent cook. Her Strawberry Pie was requested at the yearly Boatman family reunion. She took pride as a cook for the cafes she worked at.  Helen was an avid reader, animal lover, enjoyed hunting for morel mushrooms, gardening, spending time with her grandchildren, and taking trips with her daughter, Darla.

Helen is preceded in death by her longtime companion, Don Gerdes, her son, David Echols, her brother, Milton Kling, her brother-in-law Gene Adams, parents, Ruben and Esther (Stark) Kling, and her Kling and Stark grandparents.

Surviving Helen is her son, Wade Echols of Deshler, Nebraska; Darla (Justin) Sammons and their three children, Sienna, Carissa, and Creighton, all of Lincoln, Nebraska; son, Darin Boatman of Cowles, Nebraska, and his daughter, Megan (Ethan Vogler) and their two children, Briar and Tripp, all from Guide Rock, Nebraska; brother, Edward, (Kathy) Kling of Nisland, South Dakota; sister, Wanda (Kling) Adams of Valley Center, Kansas; brother Wayne (Linda) Kling of Gillette, Wyoming, along with a host of cousins, nieces, nephews and friends.

Funeral services will be held on Friday, February 2, 2024 at 2:00 pm at Christ’s Lutheran Church, 201 North Maple Ave. in Davenport, Nebraska with Pastor Beth Roegner officiating.  Interment will be at the Smith Cemetery in rural Nelson.  A dessert reception will be held at the Davenport Community Center at 110 Linden Ave. immediately after the interment.  Visitation will be Thursday, February 1, 2024 from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm at the Urbauer Funeral Home Chapel, 107 South Maple Ave., Davenport, Nebraska. Memorials to the family to be designated at a later date.