Helen Elizabeth Hood Meyer — September 1928 — January 2025

Helen Meyer passed peacefully into Heaven's glory at her daughter's home in Lewiston, Idaho.

The youngest of six children, she was born to Bertha and C.A. Hood in rural Whitman County. She enjoyed country life and was tasked with many outside chores from an early age. She enjoyed fetching the milk cow from spring and summer pasture, gardening with her brother, Skee, and gathering chicken eggs, which would be a lifelong hobby into her early 90s. 

She attended the Beauridell Country School near her home, where she rode her favorite horse, Sweetheart. This often required Sweetheart to leave a colt at home, and in Helen's own words, the ride to school was often much slower than the ride home, as the mare was eager to see her colt by day’s end. After Beauridell closed in 1938, Helen attended and graduated from Pullman schools. For one year, she went to Washington State College, majoring in elementary education, as she had a passion for children. 

She married Richard Meyer on June 20, 1948, at St. Stanislaus Church in Lewiston and started a family — which grew to six children over the next many years. The couple resided just outside of Colton, Wash., for the first 17 years of their marriage, but in September of 1964, the family moved to the Spokane Valley after purchasing farmland on the Rathdrum Prairie in Idaho. They moved out to the farm in June of 1970, where they spent the rest of their working years.

Helen enjoyed raising their children while Richard was farming. They were a good team in child-rearing. She was very involved in her children's lives, being a room mother at school and always present for activities. Richard often took some or all of the children with him farming, and the couple raised four farmers. Additionally, Helen was a member of the Union Flat Club, Rathdrum Grange, Kootenai County Homemakers and Lakeland Boosters.

Her superpowers were cooking and hospitality — she could seemingly make a meal from nothing and welcomed anyone who showed up at her door, even at the last minute. She loved company and always had space in her day for them, whether it was someone she hardly knew or her closest kin. Her ability to produce a meal was nearly magical in timing, taste and quantity, and her grandchildren dubbed her “the food lady.” Richard periodically said, “She would feed the devil if he showed up for dinner.”

Survivors are Karleen Meyer (Rathdrum, Idaho), Barbara Ostman (Hayden, Idaho), Doug and Kathy Meyer (Pullman, Wash.), Wally and Laurie Meyer (Rathdrum, Idaho), Walt and Valerie Meyer (Athol, Idaho), and Lisa Meyer (Lewiston, Idaho); as well as 16 grandchildren, 28 great-grandchildren and four great-great-grandchildren. Helen is also survived by two sisters-in-law, Emma Lou Meyer (Colton, Wash.) and Shirley Heitstuman (Clarkston, Wash.), and many nieces and nephews.

Helen was preceded in death by her husband, Richard; her oldest son, Wayne; her grandson, Eyob; and her siblings and their spouses: Dan and Lucille Hood, Harland and Rose Hood, Bill and Doris Hood, Mary Lou and Hartman Gearhiser and Lynn Hood.  

 A viewing will be from 3 to 5 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025, at Yates Funeral Home, Coeur d’Alene Chapel, 744 N. Fourth St., Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. A funeral mass will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, Feb. 14, 2025, at St. Pius X Catholic Church, 625 E. Haycraft Ave., Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, with lunch following. Please make donations to a charity of your choice. 

The family would like to thank Elite Home Health and Hospice for their excellent care and support in the last days of Helen's life. A big thank you also goes to caregivers Bobbi Jo, Maddie, Christine, Rachel and Maureen, who made it possible to keep her at home for the last few years. Thanks also go to those who kept the family company, provided food and made phone calls down the final stretch.

Please visit Helen’s online memorial and sign her guestbook at www.yatesfuneralhomes.com.

    Meyer