Wilhelmina Mary (Hellmann) Klaassen

Wilhelmina Mary (Hellmann) Klaassen
1927-2018

Wilhelmina Mary (Hellmann) Klaassen, 91, of Denver, Colorado passed away peacefully in her sleep on November 7, 2018. She was an artist, survivor, minister and warrior.

Wilhelmina was born in a stone house in Marion County, Kansas, to William and Helen (Giesbrecht) Hellmann on May 17, 1927. She is the oldest of the family's three children, which included her brothers Wilbert and Waldo. Her family was very poor and rented farms on which to live and work until she was in 7th grade when they moved to Hillsboro, Kansas. Her family didn't own their own home until she was in high school.

To help support her family Wilhelmina started working when she was 11 years old washing dishes and babysitting for the neighbors. She cleaned houses and worked in a shoe repair shop after school earning 50 cents a day. When she was a little older she worked candling eggs at the Kansas Egg Company. During high school Wilhelmina worked at Schaeffler's Department Store and started taking some classes at Tabor College. She took many art classes and excelled at drawing. Her love for art was later demonstrated in her abilities to make many beautiful crafts, decorate cakes and arrange flowers. Her love for flower arranging led her to start her own business in 1970 called Wilhelmina's Flowers. When she retired in 2005 at age 78, she had provided flowers for 785 weddings in addition to funerals and other special occasions.

Wilhelmina married John E. Klaassen on June 11, 1948, in Hillsboro, Kansas. They were married almost 41 years before John passed away. Together they would build houses, move in, finish the houses and then sell them. It was the construction business that brought them to Denver to build Garden Park Mennonite Brethren Church. They enjoyed Denver so much that after a brief move back to Kansas to build the Hillsboro Mennonite Brethren Church, they returned to Colorado to raise their family of three daughters — Jewel, Joyce and Gloria.

In 1963, Wilhelmina had surgery for varicose veins on her legs. One of the legs developed a blood clot that dislodged and was caught between her heart and lungs. God spared her life in a miraculous way by having the top heart surgeons in the country in Denver for a conference about a new heart and lung machine. They all just happened to be having dinner at her doctor's house when John's frantic call came in. After emergency open-heart surgery and many months of recuperation her prayer to live to see her children grow up was answered. She lived to see not just her children grow up, but her grandchildren as well. Wilhelmina is one of the few people to have survived this early open-heart surgery and her case is written up in medical textbooks. Living to the age of 91 after having nearly died at the age of 36 proved that she was a survivor.

Walking the walk and talking the talk was more then just a saying for Wilhelmina. She accepted Christ as her Lord and Savior at the age of 11, and she was baptized at age 12 in the Cottonwood River in Kansas. She started teaching Sunday school when she was in college and expanded her teaching into Pioneer Girls and Vacation Bible School. After she retired from her flower business she helped with the Pioneer club program at Belleview Community Church listening to the children recite verses. Wilhelmina used her artistic and teaching abilities together doing chalk talks for children's features. She always tried to make others feel comfortable whether they were in her home or coming to church with her family. An example of this was when she invited one of her neighbors to church and saw her coming ready for church dressed in her very best dress, which was a plaid house dress. Wilhelmina was already dressed for church in a nice dress and heels, but went and changed into a housedress similar to the neighbor's so that her neighbor would feel more comfortable attending church with her. Through her contacts gained from providing flowers for churches, weddings and hospital deliveries she was able to share about Christ with many and had opportunities to pray for them. When her husband, John, had health problems, the people to whom she had ministered in her flower business were then able to hold her up in prayer and encourage her. She was a minister in word and deed.

Wilhelmina's final characteristic was that of a warrior. As her abilities to do the many activities of her youth decreased, she became a prayer warrior, constantly bringing the needs of her family, friends, the church and many others before God, thanking Him for the answers He would give.

Wilhelmina will always be remembered as an artist, survivor, minister and warrior to her family and friends.
Wilhelmina is survived by three daughters: Jewel (Rolland) Winter of Denver, Joyce (Phil) Neufeld of Denver, Gloria (Dean) Witt of Michigan, six grandchildren: Corina (Darren) Enns, Andrew Neufeld, Bryan (Keiko) Neufeld, Wilhelmina, David and Tineka Witt. She is preceded in death by her husband, John, parents and brother Waldo.
A memorial service will be held at a future date.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Community Ministry of Southwest Denver, 1755 S. Zuni, Denver, CO 80223 by mail or online at https://comministry-denver.org.

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