Helen Marie (Reeves) Chatterton was born in Monroe County, Indiana, December 3, 1923, to Elbert and Mary Brashaber Reeves. She passed away peacefully on Tuesday, August 8, at Bell Trace Health & Living Center, with her daughter by her side.
She graduated from Bloomington High School in 1941, recently celebrating her 75th class reunion. Helen received early education in one-room schoolhouses and on behalf of her father, a teacher in one-room schoolhouses, she contributed stories to Echoes of One-Room Schools: Monroe County, Indiana (2006), authored by a group of Monroe County Retired Teacher Associations.
Helen attended Indiana University before going to work as an executive secretary at the Indiana Employment Security Division. Her marriage to William R. Chatterton (Christmas Day 1966) lasted 27 years, spent mostly in Indianapolis, working together at the Employment office headquarters. Helen and Bill were active members of the International Association of Personnel in Employment Services (IAPES) and enjoyed activities through the Stone Belt Shrine Club, attending events and making friends in their Hillbillies group. She was a member of Eastern Star and in 1985 received the Governor’s Distinguished Hoosier Award, a recognition that she cherished.
Shortly after her husband’s death in 1994, Helen moved back to Bloomington to be closer to her daughter and family. Helen proudly devoted time as a volunteer with the IU Health Bloomington Hospital Foundation. Nothing pleased her more than spending time with family and friends and sharing her passion for her favorite sports — football, basketball, and auto racing. Helen was also well-known for her love of dogs, convinced they surely were part human—and treated them accordingly.
Helen was raised in the Crossroads Methodist Church, a structure that her father helped build. Currently affiliated with Sherwood Oaks Christian Church (where she was baptized again), she treasured the Sunday School class and sermons, Topnotch trips, the Wednesday night classes (and meals), and the ladies’ Bible Study. When the time came she could no longer attend church, SOCC representatives visited her at home.
She was preceded in death by her parents, her 2nd husband Bill Chatterton, her 1st husband Maurice Borden (the father of her two children), her sister Mildred Reeves Butler and brother-in-law William (Bill) Butler, as well as her nephew Gary Butler and numerous cousins.
Helen is survived by her son Michael Borden (Jeanne) of Columbus, Ohio, her daughter Bonnie Borden Lavender (Mike) of Bloomington; grandchildren Kathryn Borden and Stephen Borden (fiancée Haley Phillippi) of Columbus, Ohio, and Sara Lavender Gibson (Sam) of Bloomington; and her three beloved great-grandchildren Joshua Gibson and Abigail Gibson of Bloomington and Samantha Gibson of Greenwood. She is also survived by her nephew Wm. Leland Butler (Helen) of Bloomington along with their children Heather Butler Fuller (Bryan), Greenwood, and Kirk Butler (Fazia), Paris, France (and their families).
In lieu of flowers, contributions to the IU Health Bloomington Hospital Foundation, http://www.bloomingtonhospitalfoundation.org/give-now/ or the charity of your choice would be a good way to honor Helen’s caring and fun-loving spirit.
Visitation will be Saturday, August 12, from 1:00-3:00 pm at The Funeral Chapel, 3000 East Third Street, Bloomington, Indiana.