Helen H. Wolter

On July 1st, 2021, Helen Georgene Holt Wolter passed away at the age of 92 at St. John’s Home in Rochester, NY. Helen departed this world one month shy of her 70th wedding anniversary to her loving husband, Rev. Gerald Arthur Wolter. Always concerned about the welfare of others more than herself, Helen lived an abundant life of love. She loved Jesus, her family, her friends, and her church. She believed that “God does all things well.” Helen touched the lives of so many people. Friend or family, Helen was always ready to drop everything and give her full attention (usually with a plate of cookies in hand). On the rare occasion that Helen had some alone time, she could be found reading a book with a cup of coffee by her side.



Helen Georgene Holt was born April 24th, 1929 in Aberdeen, South Dakota. Helen and her brother Warren Dean Holt were raised by their mother Bessie Langford Holt and grandparents Dennis and Hattie Langford in the small prairie town of Cresbard, South Dakota. (Helen’s father, George Russel Holt, died before Helen was born.) Helen attended high school in Redfield, South Dakota, along with her future husband Gerald. Helen attended Marion College in Indiana, and received her B.A. in English at Northern State Teacher’s College in South Dakota. Later in life Helen went on to receive a Master’s Degree in Library Science from SUNY Geneseo.



On August 1st, 1951, Helen married Gerald Arthur Wolter in the Wesleyan Methodist Church in Aberdeen, South Dakota. Alongside her husband Gerald, Helen served as a pastor’s wife at Waterloo First Church (Waterloo, Iowa), La Porte City Wesleyan Methodist Church (Iowa), Waite Park Wesleyan Methodist Church (Minneapolis, MN), College Church/Houghton College Chaplain’s wife (NY), Andover/Greenwood United Methodist Churches (NY), Spencer United Methodist Church (Hornell, NY), Grace United Methodist Church (Rochester, NY), First United Methodist Church (North Tonawanda, NY), Wesley United Methodist Church (Rochester, NY) and Aldersgate United Methodist Church (Rochester, NY). She enjoyed writing Sunday school materials, and had articles published about the history of the Sunday school (Christianity Today) and life as a pastor’s wife (Good News Magazine). Helen also worked as both a classroom teacher and as an elementary school librarian.



Helen will be dearly missed by her husband Rev Gerald Arthur Wolter, daughters Elisabeth (Benito) Martinez, Lois (Laurence Brown) Wolter, Laura (Norman) Moulton, daughter-in-law Rev. Dr. Tisa Anders, grandchildren Christine (Nick) Vuono, Charles (Lindsay Truesdell) Wolter, Jr., Stephanie (Christopher) Agostinelli, Jonathan (Julia) Martinez, Heidi (Ryan) Hanes, Sarah (Daniel) White, Christopher Brown, Andrew Moulton, Stephen Moulton, great-grandchildren Laura Vuono, Margot Agostinelli, Rachel Martinez, Peter Martinez, David Martinez, Philip Martinez, Jonah Hanes, Levi Hanes, Asher Hanes, Jeremiah Hanes, Abigail Hanes, Alyssia Hanes, LaRaina Hanes, John White, Paul White, and many other family members and long-time friends. Helen was predeceased by her brother Warren Dean Holt and her son Charles Arthur Wolter.



A memorial service will be held July 10th, 2021 at 11:00 am at Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Greece, NY.



Helen taught us that some of life’s best lessons can be found within the pages of books, whether it be the Bible or a work of historical fiction. One of her favorite quotes was from another prairie girl, Laura Ingalls Wilder: “There's no great loss without some small gain.” The loss we feel right now is great indeed. Yet our lives have gained an incredible richness from having known and loved Helen.