Helen Virginia Lackner

Helen Virginia Lackner, age 94, has gone home to be with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. She passed from this life on June 9, 2016. Helen’s family welcomes friends and family to attend a celebration of her life on Monday June 13, 2016. There will be a visitation at 10:00 a.m. at the Stewart Family Funeral Home, 7525 Old Jacksonville Hwy. in Tyler, followed by a memorial service at 11:00 a.m., Reverend Chris Legg will officiate. Helen was born November 20, 1921 in Cedartown, Georgia to the late Horace V. and Lilly G. Pickard. She served her country with two stints in the military during two different wars. Helen enlisted in the Army on December 7, 1941 and trained to become a Registered Nurse. She left the Army in 1945 as a First Lieutenant. During the Korean War she reenlisted and became a Qualified Flight Nurse for the Air Force achieving the rank of Captain. While stationed in London, England Helen met her eventual husband Charles Lackner. The couple was married in 1957 and after several job related moves settled in League City, Texas in the late 1960’s. At that point Charles was a safety engineer for Boeing doing work for the space program at NASA and Helen gave up her nursing career to become a stay at home mom. She was also a member of the Order of the Eastern Star in support of her husband’s membership in the Masonic Lodge and Scottish Rite Temple. Charles died of cancer in 1994 and Helen moved to Tyler the following year. She joined Lanes Chapel United Methodist Church when it was still a very small congregation located at the corner of Rice Road and Old Bullard Road. She lived independently until she was 84 and moved to Garden Estates Assisted Living facility for the last 10 years of her life. Her bold and captivating laugh and tremendous sense of humor made her a revered member of that community. The family wishes to thank the staff at Garden Estates who have loved Helen like she was part of their family. The family also appreciates the excellent care provided by Hospice of East Texas during the final months of Helen’s life. Helen is survived by two sons, Ken Lackner and wife Melisa of Tyler and Craig Lackner and wife Michelle of Houston. She is also survived by three grandchildren, Courtney Lackner-McCoy and Brandon Lackner, both of Fort Worth and Haley Sheldon of Austin. Helen will be laid to rest beside her husband in a private burial service at the Forest Park Cemetery East in Webster, Texas. In Lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to The Hospice of East Texas Foundation 4111 University Blvd., Tyler, TX 75701.

Helen Virginia Lackner

November 20, 1921 - June 9, 2016