Helen C. Bottum

Helen Cynthia Anusevich Bottum was born on April 16, 1948 in Omaha, NE to Alphonse Walter Anusevich and Doris Dorine Anusevich. Helen was the oldest of three children, her siblings are Michael J Anusevich and Edith Elenora Utterback. The siblings mom passed away when Helen was 10 years old. Being the oldest of the three siblings, Helen took on the role of helping to raise and care for her brother and sister. After her their mothers death they lived with Fred and Edith Wilke, during this time her cousin Carol (Wilke) Brown and Helen began a friendship that blossomed into them being best friends for life. She grew up in Omaha and would spend most of her adult life in Omaha. Helen attended North Omaha Lake School for elementary, Horace Mann Jr High and graduated from Omaha Technical in 1966. During high school she worked at Hinky Dinky grocery. After high school Helen started working at Mc Martins Industry as a "line girl" working on electronic units. Through time and hard work Helen was promoted to Supervisor. This is in a time when women were not considered for these types of jobs and she was given equal pay. She moved on to work for the Omaha School System as a Paraprofessional helping profound and severely disabled children. Helen took some time off to take care of Collin (her grandson) and then went back to the school system before she retired. Helen was married in 1967 and had Doris Dorine Bratton on September 8, 1967. She was a loving mother and very protective over Dori. Helen made sure that Dori was always taken care of; new school clothes, music lessons, great birthdays, Christmas and plenty of love. She was a faithful Christian and ensured that Dori had a good Christian upbringing. Helen sang in the choir for many years and volunteered for many positions within the church. Her church homes were Parkside Baptist Church, Mondamin IA Methodist, Miracle Hills Baptist Church, Benson Baptist Church and Sunset Hills Baptist Church. Along the way Helen forged many loving and rich relationships whether it was through work or through church. Her life was enriched by the people she gathered as she went on her journey. Helen remarried on May 31, 1985 to Steven Bottum. Her happiness was over the top, her love for Steve was deep and with God as there guide they had a loving and rich life together. Helen and Steve were married for 34 years and they had many happy years together. They traveled, attended church and many social functions, helped many people through their marriage and believed in giving to various charities. Helen loved to eat out, Friday night was standing date night and lunch out was a favorite. Helen always said how much she loved Steve and how well he took care of her and how much he made her feel loved. Helen had one grandchild, Collin R. Belik. Collin was the light that shined in her heart. Collin and grandma had an amazing relationship that began at first sight and grew as Collin grew and matured into a man. Helen enjoyed traveling, reading, being around friends and family, entertaining, cooking, going to church, singing, crafting, going to the zoo, Lauritzen gardens, Durham museum, playing games on her tablet, searching all over the internet, going to Camp Moses Merrill and helping people. Helen found out she had anal cancer on April 1, 2018, she beat that cancer and was deemed cancer free on October 18, 2018. Cancer found her again on March 1, 2019 this time is was metastatic liver cancer. As hard as Helen fought, the cancer won and took her life on June 19, 2019. Helen was loving, kind, inclusive, compassionate, bold, affectionate, considerate, courageous, generous, passionate, strong, persistent, practical, reliable, sincere and witty. To sum up who Helen is in one word she is Love. Helen passed away peacefully surrounded by her family on June 19, 2019. Visitation is Tuesday, June 25, 2019, 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Sunset Hills Baptist Church. Memorial service is Wednesday, June 26, 2019, 10:30 a.m., also at the Sunset Hills Baptist Church.

Funeral Home:
Chapel of Memories
9001 Arbor Street #111
Omaha, NE
United States 68124