Helen Louise Cardenas

Helen was born August 30, 1931 in Valparaiso, Indiana. Next to the youngest of 11 children, life was hard on a farm in rural Indiana during The Depression. With the death of her Father at the age of 9, followed by the death of her Mother the next year, she lived an unstable life being shifted among relatives. Having experienced such sadness, she wondered if there was a God who cared. She searched for God throughout her adult life by attending different churches. It wasn't until 1959 at the age of 28 she first heard the ring of truth when one of Jehovah's Witnesses (a dear pioneer sister, Jeanne Whitlock, with whom we are still in contact) knocked on her door and asked if she knew what she was praying for when she prayed the Our Father prayer (sometimes called The Lord's Prayer.) She learned God's name was Jehovah, this life was not His original purpose for mankind and through this Kingdom that we pray for, He would soon remedy all mankind's problems. In the early 1960s the family moved to Oklahoma, living a few years in Lawton, before settling in Oklahoma City. It wasn't long before another one of Jehovah's Witnesses called on Helen's door and a bible study was reestablished. The years that followed were full of hardship and loss, the hardest being the death of her eldest child, Locha in 1983. But Jehovah, our dear pioneer sister, Betty Salazar, and Helen herself never gave up on each other. She dedicated her life to Jehovah and was baptized July 6, 1985. Helen used to enjoy crocheting, she loved to play guitar and sing country music and could play the piano by ear. (She actually could play a mean boogie-woogie on the piano.) Something else Helen very much enjoyed was the volunteer minister and sharing with others the Bible's comforting promises of a better future. She also took advantage of alternative forms of witnessing and was fearless in doing early morning witnessing. When no longer able to participate in these forms of ministry, she looked for opportunities to place magazines and tracts during doctor visits and hospital stays. The family will remember Helen as strong, faithful, generous, a nurturer and as never letting you leave without a kiss and an "I love you". Helen was preceded in death by her oldest daughter, Elosia Elin "Locha" Cardenas. She is survived by her husband of 58 years, Ricardo Cardenas, their 2 daughters, Maria Navarro Heyd and Fransesca L. "Casey" Rider both of Oklahoma City. She is also survived by one sibling, William Adams of Floral City, Florida. She also leaves behind many dearly loved extended family and friends.