Eleanor and her husband, Stan, have resided at The Holmstad in Batavia, operated by Covenant Retirement Communities as part of the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC). They were married October 20, 1951.

She was born April 20, 1931, and raised in Galesburg, Illinois, where she attended the local Covenant church. "Eleanor has been a lifelong Covenanter, important in the ministry of her local church wherever she has lived," says Dr. Arthur A.R. Nelson, who has known her since she was 10 years old. Nelson serves as chair of the Board of Trustees for North Park University. "She and the entire family have invested heart and soul, as well as their resources, to North Park over several decades," says Nelson, who notes that Eleanor, Stan, and all four children and two grandchildren graduated from the university.

Stan, who currently serves on the North Park Board of Trustees, has served in that role for a number of terms and has been involved with the school in many ways over the years. "Even though Eleanor wasn't as public, she was always right there with him," says family friend Laura McConnaughay. "She was as much involved as he was."

"Eleanor Helwig was a good and faithful servant of her Lord and of her church," says ECC President Glenn Palmberg of her life. "She and Stan have not only contributed generously of their own time and God-given gifts, but they also raised their family in that same tradition of faith and personal involvement. Their support for and involvement with North Park University has been especially important to the life of the Covenant church. My prayers and those of people across the Covenant are with Stan and their family at this time."

The Helwig Recreation Center, currently under construction at the university and scheduled for completion this fall, is named for the family. The new facility includes the latest in training equipment, batting cages, a two-lane running track, volleyball courts and a practice area for the football team. The university expects the modern athletic facility to help attract new students as well as scholar athletes.

The entire Helwig family has been involved in athletics, says McConnaughay. "Growing up near St. Louis, Eleanor loved the Cardinals and absolutely hated the Cubs," she says.

McConnaughay notes that although Helwig could not speak the day before she died, when the doctor came into the room and informed her that the Chicago team had lost, "she gave the thumbs up sign."