Helen C. Kemmerly

Article Last Updated; Tuesday, October 20, 2009 12:01AM

Former Durango resident Helen C. Kemmerly died in Kerr-ville, Texas, on Sunday, Oct. 18, 2009. She was 87.

Mrs. Kemmerly was born in Manhattan, N.Y., on Aug. 29, 1922.

She lived in Houston for many years, where she taught elementary school and worked for a real estate developer.

In the late 1930s, she married Carl Wiseman. He died after 27 years of marriage.

From the mid-1980s to June 2007, Mrs. Kemmerly lived in Durango. She was an active member of St. Columba Catholic Church, read to students at St. Columba School and volunteered at Mercy Regional Medical Center. Mrs. Kemmerly was a member of Catholic Daughters of the Americas.

In 1996, she married Jack Kemmerly at St. Columba in Durango. He died in 1998.

She enjoyed painting, gardening and volunteering, which she did throughout her life.

Mrs. Kemmerly is survived by her daughters Jeanne Bingley of Ingram, Texas, Christie Aaronsen of Florence, Texas, and Janice Wiseman of Pasadena, Texas; son, Bill Wiseman, of Bryan, Texas; and nine grandchildren.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 22, 2009, at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Killeen, Texas. The Rev. Adam Martinez will be the celebrant.

A service will be held at
6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 22, 2009, at Grimes Funeral Chapels in Kerrville. Graveside services will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, Oct. 23, 2009, at Garden of Memories Cemetery in Kerr-ville.

Online condolences may be sent at www.grimesfuneralchap
els.com; select the Send Condolences link.