Helen Janette Lippincott, 99, of Brooklyn, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, December 10, 2025, at the Mayflower Community Health Center in Grinnell with her daughters at her side.

A funeral service will be held 10:30 am, Monday, December 15, 2025 at Grace United Methodist Church in Brooklyn with Pastor Guylain Yumba presiding. The family will greet friends and family one hour prior to the service. Burial will be at Brooklyn Memorial Cemetery. A luncheon will follow at the church.

In lieu of flowers, memorials can be directed to Grace United Methodist Church, Brooklyn, Iowa, or a local community organization of choice, and mailed in care of the Smith Funeral Home and Crematory, PO Box 342, Brooklyn, IA 52211. Condolences may be shared with her family online at www.smithfh.com.

Helen was born October 9, 1926, in rural Gilman, Iowa, to Selmer and Jeanie (Carroll) Nelson. She attended country schools in Tama County and later, Brooklyn High School, graduating in 1945. When her parents moved to a farm north of Brooklyn, transportation to school became an issue. Helen then stayed in town with Clarence and Vera Schweibert during the school week, doing light housekeeping and caring for their children for her room and board.

Helen married Dale Lippincott, the love of her life, on March 23, 1946, one week after Dale's return from serving in the US Navy. The devoted couple of 77 years lived in Brooklyn most of their lives, where they raised their 3 children, Donna, Joyce, and John Dale. She was an 82-year active member of Grace United Methodist Church serving as a Sunday School teacher for many years and being reliably available when help was needed by the UMW, helping with annual bazaars, serving many meals and making innumerable quarts of mincemeat.

Her family brought great joy to Helen and was most important to her throughout her life. Helen and Dale supported their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren in all their activities, traveling many miles to enjoy football, basketball, baseball, and soccer games, track and wrestling meets and a variety of musical performances and recitals. Helen will be remembered for her boundless energy, kind heart, willingness to help anyone in need and exemplary work ethic. In their retirement years, Helen enjoyed traveling with Dale. Their journeys took them to Europe, Canada, Mexico and all 50 of the United States where they visited many family members and friends.

Helen's hands were always busy: helping anyone needing a lift with a difficult task; caring for someone in need; cleaning her house, ensuring her home was immaculate and the windows were sparkling; tending her garden, picking, husking and freezing many pints of sweet corn; painting any area that needed a little sprucing up; refinishing and repurposing old furniture to brighten her home; clapping to cheer on and encourage her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Now her once busy hands are resting as she lovingly holds Dale's hands.

Survivors remaining to honor Helen's memory are her daughters, Donna (Melvin) Beck of Grinnell and Joyce (Donald) Paynter of Cedar Rapids; 5 grandchildren, Chad (Gina) Beck of Grinnell, Brent (Jodee) Beck of Cedar Rapids, Natalie (Eric) Pavey of Grinnell, Thomas (Elizabeth) Paynter of Eagle River, Alaska, and Bradley (Lindsay) Paynter of Chattanooga, Tennessee; 11 great-grandchildren, Brody (Josie) Beck, Brock Beck, Kayne Pavey, all of Grinnell, Malynn Pavey of West Des Moines, Brielle Phifer (Joshua) of Ankeny, Riley Beck of Tampa, Florida, Carley Beck, Vinton, Brandon and Ashlyn Paynter of Eagle River, Alaska, Ansel and Eleanor Paynter of Chattanooga, Tennessee; 4 great-great-grandchildren, Ivey, Nora and Jay Beck of Grinnell and Beckett Phifer of Ankeny; and many nieces and nephews.

Preceding Helen in death were her husband Dale (2023); son John Dale (2007); her parents; brothers Elmer, Carroll (Kelly), Thomas and Dale; and sisters Mildred and Verna.