Helen Cope Eickhoff

Helen Cope Eickhoff, born Helen Goldie Cope, passed away Saturday, January 9, 2010, at Budd Terrace at Wesley Woods in Atlanta, GA. She was preceded in death by her husband Rudolph E. Eickhoff and grandson Lance W. Wood.  Born January 12, 1917, in Petoskey, Michigan, Mrs. Eickhoff grew up in Carp Lake, MI. She was the daughter of Armour T. and Goldie K. Cope. She attended grammar school in Carp Lake. She was active in the Levering Methodist Church where she was treasurer of the youth organization Standard Bearer. Mrs. Eickhoff attended Elisha Jones Junior High School in Ann Arbor, MI, and graduated from Petoskey High in 1935. She moved to Detroit and after graduating from the Detroit Business School worked as a cashier before the outbreak of World War II. Mrs. Eickhoff was a devoted wife and mother. She married in Detroit, and the family lived in Cleveland, Dayton, and New Carlisle, Ohio. They also lived in New York City, NY, and Perth Amboy, New Jersey, before moving to Decatur, GA. They were members of the Congregational Church in Cleveland and New Carlisle First Presbyterian Church. She was a Cub scout den mother in New Carlisle. The Eickhoff family moved to Decatur, Georgia, in 1956. Mrs. Eickhoff and family belonged to the Decatur Presbyterian Church. She was a church volunteer, worked in the Parent Teacher’s Association, was a Girl Scout leader, and was a Clairemont Elementary School and Decatur High School volunteer. She maintained contact with her Ohio and Michigan friends and summered in Carp Lake. She worked in Congressman Benjamin B. Blackburn’s (Republican 4th District) office in the 1960s and 1970s. Cooking was her hobby, and later in life she renewed her interest in writing and language study. She studied German at Atlanta’s Goethe Institut. Visitation will be Wednesday, January 13 at  2:00 PM, at the Turner Funeral Home (A.S. Turner & Sons, 2773 North Decatur Rd., Decatur, GA, 30033) followed by a 3:30 PM service in the Turner Chapel. The family will host a gathering of friends and family at Athens Pizza in Decatur address 1341 Clairmont Rd., Decatur, GA 30033. Mrs. Eickhoff is survived by daughters Helen E.. Wood and her husband Lawrence A. Wood of Livingston, TX, Linda E. Holzworth of Dawsonville, Georgia, Pamela E. Fritz and husband, Richard of Littleton, MA, and Lucinda E. Williams of Atlanta, GA. She is also survived by sons Gerald E. Eickhoff and wife, Jean, of Decatur, GA and Richard C. Eickhoff and wife, Helen, of Sterling, VA.; thirteen grandchildren and twenty great grandchildren.  In lieu of flowers the family asks that donations be made to: Honduras Outreach, 4105 Briarcliff Rd. N.E., Atlanta, GA 30345 or the Foundation of Wesley Woods, Inc., 1817 Clifton Rd. N.E., Atlanta, GA 30329. A. S. Turner & Sons