Page 12 - The Wayne Dispatch
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                     -                                                          BRIEFS, Continued from page 4     Chum’s Donuts to close
                                                                                                                     Chum’s  owner  Larry  “Chum”
                                                                                Free ice cream cone day           Stockwell died recently. His wife re-
          JANET ELLEN HELPPIE                                                     Dairy  Queen’s  annual  free  cone  ports  that  she  will  be  closing  the
                                                                                                                  long-time  icon  of  the  community
          (November 9, 1927 – February 8, 2020)                                 day will take place Thursday, March  across from Wayne Memorial High
             Janet  Ellen  (Colburn)  Helppie                                   19,  from  1:00-9:00  p.m.  at  the  School at the end of March.
          passed away quietly on February 8,                                    Wayne Dairy Queen. Come get your
          2020.  She was a resident of Wayne,                                   free  small  vanilla  soft-serve  cone.  Wayne Percussion has
          Michigan from 1953 until 1988, and                                    The event is held in partnership with  success at competition
          prior to that lived in Norwayne for                                   the Children’s Miracle Network.      Wayne    Memorial   Percussion
          several years.                                                                                          (WMP) began its 2020 competition
             She was born in Orange, Texas,                                     Make a fairy garden               season at Troy Athens High School
          on  November  9,  1927,  to  Norman                                     The Wayne Historical Society will  on February 8.
          and Alma (Ruble) Colburn.  Her par-                                   be hosting a Fairy Garden Workshop   They scored 67.3 in the finals of
          ents already had three children more                                  on Saturday, April 4, at 1:00 p.m. All  the Scholastic Concert A competition
          than  a  decade  older,  and  Janet’s                                 supplies  will  be  provided  for  this  and fourth-highest finals score in all
          birth was followed 19 months later                                    make-and-take fairy garden. Reserve  Class A divisions.  WMP went on to
          by her sister and best friend, Joan.                                  your spot today for $20.          win their second Scholastic Concert
             Janet and Joan grew up in Gary,                                                                      A-Class  competition  of  the  season
          Indiana and Detroit, Michigan, doted                                  U of M library presentation       with their show “Legacies in Stone”
          on by their parents, two older broth-                                   Guest  speaker  Michelle  McClel-  on February 23 at the MCGC (Michi-
          ers (Norman Jr. and John) and older                                   lan, from the Bentley Historical Li-  gan Color Guard Circuit) Competi-
          sister (Mary).  Janet graduated from  Carrollton  Senior  Center,  took  up  brary on the University of Michigan  tion held at Troy Athens High School.
          Cooley High School in Detroit, where  bridge, and played Scrabble daily.    Ann Arbor campus, will give a pres-  The  WMP  is  4-time  defending
          she met the love of her life, Richard  Janet  continued  to  pursue  her  entation on the historic library and  State Champions and have 2 consec-
          Dean (“Dick”) Helppie.  Dick worked  love  of  dancing  by  taking  tap  and  its unique collections and will show  utive top-ten finishes at WGI (Winter
          for Wayne Community Schools as an  clogging  lessons,  and  performing  anything  they  might  have  about  Guard International) World Compe-
          attendance officer, teacher (Roosevelt  around North Texas for many years  Wayne.  The  event  is  hosted  by  the  tition. The only home performance
          Elementary),  and  swim  coach  at  with the Skyliners Tap Troupe.  Dick  Wayne Historical Society and will be  and  the  only  free  performance  of
          Wayne Memorial High School.        served as her cheerful driver and en-  at the Wayne Historical Museum on  Wayne Memorial Percussion will be
             Despite Dick’s first (of many) pro-  thusiastic fan, his dance skills never  Wednesday, April 8, at 7:00 p.m.  March 28.
          posals to Janet at age 17, she chose  coming close to Janet’s -- despite a
          instead  to  attend  Olivet  College,  few attempts at learning.
          where  she  studied  modern  dance.   Throughout her life, Janet loved
          But their love was strong and, at age  attending live theater and dance per-
          20,  she  dropped  out  of  college  to  formances of every kind---including
          marry Dick at the Mayflower Congre-  on Broadway, at regional and com-
          gational Church in Detroit on Sep-  munity  theaters,  and  even  at  the
          tember  11,  1948.      Still,  Janet  local  schools  (whether  or  not  she
          promised her father that she would  knew  any  students  in  the  shows!).
          finish her degree; and so, at the age  She passed on her dancing genes to
          of 42 and just a semester before her  her children (who all have a wonder-
          oldest daughter graduated from col-  ful sense of rhythm) and grandchil-
          lege, Janet was proud to keep her  dren  (her  youngest,  Marin  Rose,
          promise during her father’s lifetime,  continues  to  thank  her  “Dancing
          earning a Bachelor of Arts in Social  Grandma” in all of her professional
          Studies from Eastern Michigan Uni-  dancing bios).
          versity.                              In addition to her husband, Janet
             Dick and Janet’s love story pro-  was preceded in death by her par-
          duced 7 children, 30 grandchildren  ents, her brothers, her sister Mary,
          and 31 great-grandchildren (with 3  and  her  daughters  Jane  (Richard
          more on the way).   All 7 children  Enos)  and  Martha  (Mark  Mason).
          graduated  from  Wayne  Memorial.  She  is  survived  by  her  children,
          After more than 68 happy years of  Joanne, Susan (Gary Shackelford),
          marriage,  Dick  preceded  Janet  in  Richard Jr. (Leslie), Sally (Michael
          death on March 8, 2017.            Stokes) and Mary (Tom Horstman),
             Dick and Janet raised their fam-  along with her sister Joan, 30 grand-
          ily in Wayne, where they were active  children,  31  great-grandchildren,
          in the community, including the First  and a large extended family and nu-
          Congregational  Church,  Scouts,   merous friends.
          dance lessons, the PTA, and various   The family is certain that, during
          sports  teams.    They  moved  to  the  their  three  years  apart,  Dick  has
          Dallas area in 1988 and traveled ex-  been  working  on  his  dance  skills,
          tensively around the United States  and that he and Janet are now hap-
          for  many  years.      They  joined  the  pily dancing together.
          12 · March 2020 · The Wayne Dispatch
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