Helen C. Simpkins

Helen Cramer Simpkins, 95, passed away at The Village in Indianola, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020. No services are planned at this time.

Helen Lavina Cramer was born in Newton to William H. and Lorena Fern (Bean) Cramer in 1925 and graduated from Newton High School in 1942. She received her bachelor of music degree in piano performance with a minor in organ at Simpson College. Helen met her future husband, Warren G. Simpkins, a tenor from Rose Hill, at the college and they were married June 8, 1947, at Wesley United Methodist Church in Des Moines. Together, they continued their studies at the University of Michigan, where Helen received a master of music degree in piano performance in 1950. Helen was Warren’s regular piano accompanist for his vocal solos and they were a great musical team for many years. Helen taught piano privately in her home studios in Granite City and Grayslake, Ill., and produced many excellent, award-winning piano students, many of whom became piano teachers. Helen and Warren moved to The Village in Indianola when it opened in 1991. In her spare time, she enjoyed researching the family history and was a member of the Iowa Genealogical Society. In 2007, she moved into Juniper House, a long-term care facility, and in 2015, she moved into The Willows memory care unit, both at The Village.

Helen is survived by a son, William (Catherine) of Ames; and two grandchildren, Scott Simpkins of Oakland, Calif., and Kelsey Simpkins of Boulder, Colo. She was preceded in death by her husband, Warren G. Simpkins; her sister, Elizabeth Hannah Cramer Sparks, brother-in-law, A. Harold Sparks; her father, William H. Cramer; and mother, Lorena Fern (Bean) Cramer.

The family would like to thank the staff in Juniper House, The Willows and Wesley Life Hospice for their love and care during the past 12 years and especially in her final days. Contributions to the Helen Simpkins Memorial Fund in the Simpson College Music Department are preferred.