Helen Katherine Frances Ficq Coleman

Funeral Services will be held on Friday, September 16, 2022, with a 9:30 A.M. Rosary and a 10:00 A.M. Funeral Mass in St. Paul Catholic Church, St. Paul, Oregon for Helen Ficq Coleman who died at the Willow Place Assisted Living Community in Newberg, Oregon on August 15th at the age of 97. Helen Katherine Ficq Coleman was born in Albany, Oregon, the daughter of Dr. Augustin Constant Louis Ficq of The Hague, Netherlands, and Catherine Schubert Ficq of Armstrong, B.C. Canada. Dr. Ficq settled his wife and three children in Albany, Oregon where Helen, the youngest, attended St. Mary’s Catholic School. Seeking a better life for his family during the Great Depression of the 1930s, Dr. Ficq sought to relocate his family on the Indonesian Island of Java. By 1936 however, the island’s political stability became endangered due to the immanence of WWII. Dr. Ficq and his family returned to Oregon where Helen graduated first in her class at Albany High School and was awarded a scholarship to Marylhurst College. She attended Marylhurst College and transferred to Oregon State University, where she received a Bachelor of Science in Home Economics in June 1948. In September 1948, Helen was hired for her first teaching job at St. Paul Union High School and moved to St. Paul where she taught Home Economics and Physical Education. It was in the fall that year that Helen met the love of her life, James Coleman. They were married in June 1950 and moved into their new home at the site of Gearin’s Ferry on the bank of the Willamette River the following year. There they raised their family of six children and many beloved dogs. In 1968, Helen returned to teaching as the seventh-grade teacher at St. Paul Parochial School. She also acted as a substitute teacher at Newberg High School and Middle School. Helen loved teaching and she loved her students, many of whom were children of the students she had taught in the 1940’s. In 1978, Helen retired from teaching. Throughout her married life, she was a loving wife to her husband, a loving mother to her children, and a wonderful homemaker. In the fall of 2018, Helen’s health necessitated a move to Willow Place. Helen was preceded in death by her husband, James C. Coleman (d. June 1, 2006). She is survived by her children, Katherine (Patrick) Sheehy, Santa Maria, CA; Curtis Coleman, St. Paul, OR; Cornelia Coleman (Tony Yraguen), Portland, OR; Christopher (Marne) Coleman, St. Paul, OR; Caroline Richter, St. Paul, OR; and Clinton (Tami) Coleman of Canby, OR; five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Helen was a devout Catholic and a proud long-time member of the St. Paul Community. In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made to the St. Paul Catholic Parish, St. Paul, Oregon. Arrangements are in the care of Attrell’s Newberg Funeral Chapel.

Helen Katherine Frances Ficq Coleman

March 4, 1925 - August 15, 2022