Helen E. Voss

Helen E. Voss, age 91, of Oshkosh, WI, passed away on September 22, 2026, at Bethel Home.

Helen was born on June 21, 1935, in Oshkosh, to the late Ernest and Edna (Eckstein) Zimdars. She graduated from Oshkosh High School. Helen married Kenneth Voss on June 21, 1956.

Helen is survived by her daughter, Stacie (Tom Denow) Voss; son, Steven (Lisa) Voss; grandchildren, Brooke Mongan, Margaret Voss, Katherine Voss, and Alison Voss; sisters, Janice Schwertfeger and Julie Gruse; as well as nieces and nephews. The family would also like to thank Helen’s niece, Sue Bushman, for her care and support over the years; the staff at Bethel Home for the care she received; and Nurse Dale for his compassion and friendship.

She is preceded in death by her parents and husband; brother-in-law James Schwertfeger; sister-in-law Nancy Voss; sister-in-law Trina Voss; and sister-in-law Dorothy Voss.

Helen cherished time spent with family, telling stories and relishing the opportunity to hear or share a good joke. Her granddaughters meant the world to her and they will always hold dear the time spent with grandma.

Helen loved a good rummage sale and found many treasures around town. She would often hit the circuit early on a Friday or Saturday, then put the word out when she found great deals or a particularly impressive selection, so that others could share in the bounty.

Helen was well known at the local library and bookmobile through the years, spending countless hours browsing the stacks for something to read and using the computers to learn more about a new place or event that caught her attention.

She and Ken would often jump in their van, trolls perched on the dashboard, crank up the soundtrack from Chicago and hit the road. Whether driving to a Chinese restaurant in Milwaukee or heading to Fountain City to see the latest work by their favorite woodcarver Leo Smith, they were always up for an adventure. Often their granddaughters were lucky enough to accompany them on these road trips.

Helen loved traveling and saw many areas of the country - sometimes with friends and later with Ken and the kids. There were numerous trips to San Francisco and other vacations from coast to coast. Stories about her trip to New York as a young woman inspired a sense of adventure and independence in her oldest granddaughter, Brooke.

Closer to home she loved going up north to the family cabin in Conover, WI with the Wiechman family. She and Ken raised their children to appreciate the outdoors and they spent many hours walking through the woods, picking blueberries and watching for bears at the local dump after a “bath” in the lake.

Helen enjoyed jazz music and her taste in movies was surprising to some, with Dirty Dancing and the musical Chicago at the top of her list. A good cook, Helen was known for her scalloped potatoes and ham and her famous deviled eggs. Chinese food was a favorite, whether dining at a local restaurant or firing up the wok at home.

Helen was artistic. She enjoyed painting and crafts and spent many an afternoon with her “painting ladies” - making art or just socializing over lunch. She and Ken blended their artistic talents - Ken creating beautiful carvings that Helen painted.

Truly a woman for all seasons, Helen came into the world on the first day of summer and left it on the first day of fall.

A memorial service for Helen will be held on Saturday, October 3, 2026, at St. John’s Lutheran Church, 808 N. Main St., Oshkosh, beginning at noon. A time of visitation will begin at 11 a.m. and continue until the start of the service.