Submitted by: Dan Rich

Helen E. Hundt Pontius

March 21, 1913 - May 27, 1997

South Bend Tribune 5/28/1997

Helen E. Hundt Pontius, 84, a lifetime area resident known and honored for her dedication as a homemaker and mother of 17 children and seven stepchildren, died on Tuesday, May 27, at 6:30 a.m. Helen had been in failing health for the past five years. She died at her home, 20675 5th Rd., Walkerton, Ind.

The daughter of George and Ida Mae Scott Hazen, Helen was born March 21, 1913, in Aldine, Ind. She attended Cottage Grove Elementary School in Winamac and Knox High School.

On January 1, 1931, in LaPorte County, she and Arthur W. Hundt Sr. were married. Arthur died on March 19, 1974. Helen and Paul Pontius were married in Bremen on Oct. 31, 1981.

Helen was a superb fruit and vegetable gardener. She supplied many families with fresh produce from the family-owned truck patch. For 14 years she was a production worker at Burkliff Wire (Easy Heat) of Lakeville. In addition to her work, she was an excellent seamstress and made much of the family's clothing. Helen also enjoyed quilting and fishing. She was a lifetime member of the Calvary Lutheran Church in Plymouth. She was a member of the Ladies Auxiliary of both the Moose and the Eagles in Plymouth as well as the VFW in Bremen. She was a past president of Parents Without Partners.

In addition to her husband, she is survived by 16 children, 10 daughters and six sons. The sons are Robert and wife, Bonnie Hundt and Richard and wife, Lorretta Hundt, all of Plymouth, George Hundt of Wheeling, Ill., William and wife, Donna Hundt of Bremen, Frank Hundt and Paul and wife, Chris Hundt, all of Plymouth. The daughters and their spouses are Beverly Davis and Delores Ogle, both of Rochester, Louella Powell of Plymouth, Judy and Richard Lowhagen of Pottstown, Pa., Carol and David Colburn of Newark, Ohio, Lila and Bill Harman of Winterhaven, Fla., Barbara and Steve Harrington of Bremen, Kathy Garza of Plymouth, Tina Snyder of Bremen and Patty and Ray Igleski of Wabash.

Helen is also survived by four stepsons and three stepdaughters. They are Wayne and Carol Pontius of Walkerton, Larry and Karen Pontius and Allen and Donna Pontius, all of Plymouth, Mark and Beth Pontius of Argos, Evelyn Wagner of Leesburg, Ind., Barbara Keith of Walkerton and Carol and Bob Duncan of Milford. Eighty grandchildren, 85 great-grandchildren and 12 great-great-grandchildren also survive.

She was preceded in death by three sisters, Mae Carman, Alice Freeman and Ann Tedge. Four brothers also died before her, Louis, Russell, Robert and Jesse Hazen. A son, Arthur W. Hundt, Jr., died in 1996, and four grandsons preceded Helen in death.

Visitation will be on Thursday, May 29, from 2 to 8 p.m. in the Johnson-Danielson Funeral Home, 1100 N. Michigan St., Plymouth. Additional time to visit the family will be one hour prior to the funeral service which will be held in the Calvary Lutheran Church, 1314 N. Michigan St., on Friday, May 30, at 2 p.m. The Rev. Roger Rohde of Bremen will officiate. Burial will be in the Bremen Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to the Richard Hazen Heart Foundation or the Calvary Lutheran Church.