HUTCHINSON – Helen F. Wenta, age 98, passed away early Friday morning, January 9, 2025, at her Hutchinson residence.

She was born April 29, 1927, on a farm near Florence, Kansas, to Lee and Esther (Williams) Ireland.

Helen graduated from Florence High School in 1945.  She attended Phillips University, Enid, Oklahoma, graduating with a BME degree, majoring in piano in 1949.

She taught music and 6th grade at Fowler Elementary at Fowler, Kansas.  Helen gave piano lessons to many students from surrounding towns.  She also accompanied musical programs, weddings and funerals.  Her greatest joy was playing for church services.

Helen was a member of the Fowler Christian Church, Fowler, Kansas, and an associate member of Crossroads Christian Church, Hutchinson, Kansas.

On July 4, 1950, she married Paul T. Wenta in Meade, Kansas.  Many summers, the Wenta family custom harvested from Oklahoma to North Dakota.  They shared 37 years of marriage, prior to his death on April 6, 1987.

She is survived by a son, Alan of Hutchinson; grandchildren, Rustin (Michelle) Lafferty, Inman, Kansas, Rebecca (David) Reid, Overland Park, Kansas, Naomi (Benjamin) Dean, Wheelersburg, Ohio, Miriam (Mashalla) Gogadi, Millersville, Maryland, Hannah (Hernan) Aguilar, Wichita, Kansas, and Sarah McCarty, Buhler, Kansas; great-grandchildren, Christopher, Jonathan, and Nathaniel Dean, Joseph, Annaleise, and Josiah Gogadi, Katelyn Unruh, Achilles, and Alexander Aguilar, Graham and Marshall McCarty; great-great-grandchild, Kobe; nieces and nephews, cousins and friends.

She is preceded in death by her parents; husband; daughter, Paula Kay Dewey; and three sisters.

Graveside services will be held at 1:00 PM on Thursday, January 15, 2026, in the Fowler Cemetery, Fowler, KS.  Friends may call from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Wednesday at Fidler-Orme-Bachman Mortuary, Meade, KS.  Celebration of life services will be held at 1:00 p.m. Friday, January 16, 2026, at the Crossroads Christian Church, Hutchinson, Kansas.

In lieu of flowers, the family would welcome monetary memorials made to the Crossroads Benevolence Fund (Crossroads Christian Church, 4310 N. Monroe St, Hutchinson, KS 67522 (620-663-9597) in care of the funeral home.