CAROLINE JONES HELMKAMP Caroline Jones Helmkamp, a consummate teacher and avid cyclist, died on 24 October 2015 in Kansas City MO at age 72. The cause was cholangiocarcinoma, an aggressive bile duct cancer. Caroline Ann Jones was born on 23 August 1943 in South Bend IN. Her parents were Mary (Sauter) and Thomas E Jones. After graduating from John Adams High School, she attended St Mary's College, Notre Dame IN, and in 1965 earned a BA in History with High Distinction and Phi Beta Kappa honors from Indiana University Bloomington. She subsequently received an MA in Teaching from Harvard University in 1966 and an Educational Specialist in Curriculum and Instruction degree from the University of Missouri Kansas City in 1992. While in Cambridge MA Caroline met George M Helmkamp Jr, a student in the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Recalls George, "I fell love with that captivating smile and those beguiling brown eyes." They were married on 01 July 1967 at the Church of the Advent, Boston MA. Besides George, Caroline is survived by her son Peter George Helmkamp (Philadelphia PA), daughter Amy (Elizabeth) Helmkamp Brice (Tulsa OK), sisters Virginia Crouse (San Diego CA) and Rebecca Rutkowski (Fort Wayne IN), and brother David Jones (Murphreesboro TN). Peter and Amy agree on one example of Caroline's parental style: "Mom raised us to have a determined fearlessness to set a course, head out on an adventure, and achieve a goal that really mattered to us, like the sole option of handing us a bus schedule and adequate fare and letting us go to a shopping mall, community college or music lesson." Caroline Helmkamp held brief teaching positions at several suburban Boston public high schools before completing a 26- year career in the Kansas City MO Public School District. She was named the Outstanding Middle School Social Studies Teacher of the Year by the Missouri Council for the Social Studies in 1990. She was a fiercely proud member of Local 691 of the American Federation of Teachers. Caroline served as an elected trustee on the governing board of the Kansas City Public School Retirement System for 17 years and was a member of the Trustee Education Committee of the National Council on Teacher Retirement. Travel was a joy in Caroline's life - with her family as well as friends. A 10-week belated honeymoon to northern Europe (almost on $5 a day!) in 1968 led to residing in Utrecht (Netherlands) in 1973-75 and Edmonton (Canada) in 1991-92, cycling in 24 states, 7 Canadian provinces, England, France, Ireland, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany & Viet Nam, visiting Spain, Scotland, Portugal, Turkey, Wales, Lithuania, Latvia & Estonia, and creating housing with Habitat for Humanity in Malawi, Sri Lanka, Bolivia & Poland. Caroline's teaching was not limited to grades 7-12. As a Water Safety Instructor (Red Cross), she taught swimming and, as a League Cycling Instructor (League of American Bicyclists), she educated young students in basic cycling skills throughout the Kansas City metropolitan area. She was a board member of RevolveKC, a community bike shop with an earn-a-bike program. For her cycling advocacy service, Caroline received the UMB Senior Sportswoman of 2015 award from the Women's Intersport Network. She was a Cub Scout den mother, Camp Fire leader, and soccer coach. Inspired by her receipt of the Hattie Listenfelt Scholarship in 1964-65 during her senior year, the Caroline Jones Helmkamp Fellowship has been established and funded through her voluntary IRA. The fellowship will be used to support doctoral candidates in the Department of History, Indiana University Bloomington. A service of Holy Eucharist will be celebrated at 11 am on Saturday, 14 November, at Grace & Holy Trinity Cathedral, 13th & Broadway, Kansas City MO. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions in her memory to Newhouse Domestic Violence Shelter (newhouseshelter.org) or the Camp Win scholarship program of the Women's Intersport Network (winforkc.org). Condolences may be left at CaringBridge (caringbridge.org/visit/carolinehelmkamp/guestbook).

Published in Kansas City Star on Nov. 1, 2015

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