Helen Louise (Korn) Coons

Helen passed away July 7, 2026 at Manatee Memorial Hospital in Bradenton, FL at the age of 96. Born in November of 1929, during the stock market crash year, Helen grew up to witness construction of the Oakland Bay Bridge. The eldest of two girls, Helen was predeceased by her younger sister Edna.

Attending public high school in Oakland, Helen studied the violin and took academic courses, with the goal of becoming a grade school teacher. She graduated early, going to work in San Francisco for both RCA and the Union Pacific Railroad, taking the ferry to work each day.

Plans for college were sidelined when she met and married Edward Coons of Watsonville in 1947. As a loving home maker, she and Edward were parents to four children-Jacqueline, Jeanette, James and Jeffery (all Js!). Following her divorce in 1969, Helen rejoined the workforce at a cannery in Watsonville, eventually rising in the industry to become a quality control technician in the lab at Green Giant Foods, where she stayed until retirement at age 64, when the plant closed.

Helen enjoyed her career and made friends easily. A long-time member of the First United Methodist Church in Watsonville, she loved teaching in the Children's Sunday School. Another love was for the Watsonville Marching Band. As a proud sponsor and volunteer, she would recall working the artichoke stand at Santa Cruz County Fair to raise funds. In its heyday, she travelled with the band to Hawaii and Mexico.

The Weight Watchers program helped Helen reach her goal weight, and she was so taken with their system, that she worked for them for several years afterward.

A great cook and baker, Helen was known for her sourdough bread. She worked with a friend to cater many area weddings and parties, always glad to celebrate, but careful not to actually sip Champagne at the toasts. She was a proud teetotaler and non-smoker!

Helen loved church picnics, flower arranging and all church services. It pleased her to go out to dinner on Mother's Day. Nothing made her more happy than to help her friends, family and community in the Pajaro Valley. She was a giver!

Although she didn't care for sports, she enjoyed participating in water aerobics if the water was warm.

Helen is survived by four children, nine grandchildren and several great grandchildren.

Dinkey Creek, California, was her favorite place on earth.

No memorial is planned. As she wished, her ashes will be placed in the Sierra Nevada mountains where "I was the happiest I ever was, there."

Helen will be missed, even though she will live on in the love and the lessons she gave.

In lieu of flowers, a gift to a local food pantry, the Watsonville Marching Band, or the First United Methodist Church of Watsonville would be a wonderful way to honor Helen's memory.

Published in The Pajaronian · July 14, 2026