Helen Irene Wiant

Helen Irene (Beane) Wiant was born on February 25, 1926, on a farm outside of College Springs, Page County, IA to William Leslie Beane and Lizzie Ellen (Teague) Beane. She passed away Saturday, August 22, 2020, age 94, after a long battle with ovarian cancer. Helen attended AIB, and lived and worked in Des Moines for several years until she met Rex Harlan Wiant of Osceola. They were married on December 22, 1951, at the Jefferson Center Church in Adair County, IA. After Rex graduated from Iowa State College (now Iowa State University), they moved to Creston, IA where they welcomed their two children, Leslie Ellen on December 17, 1952, and Rex Harlan II on September 8, 1956. Soon after that, they moved to Atlantic, IA where Rex was employed at the Iowa State Highway Commission Construction Office. In 1958 they settled in Ames, IA to raise their family. Helen was employed by Iowa State University, first as a secretary for Driver Education, and later as the secretary to the Director of Industrial Education and Technology. More importantly, Helen loved to trace her genealogy, travel, and dance! Helen merged her love of travel and genealogy by traveling to Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, and Washington to find the documents required for her membership in the Daughters of the American Revolution. The official certificate reads that she became a member of the DAR on December 2, 1995 (National number 0768873). She and Rex could often be found at the ISU dance club, Red Friars, and Wednesday nights at the Val Air Ballroom in Des Moines enjoying the waltz and Jesse polka! From 1993-2013 Rex and Helen lived full-time in Arizona, but concentrated on traveling during the hotter months! Helen and Rex made more than 40 trips to Hawaii, but they also enjoyed exploring Europe for genealogical purposes as well as for fun. Their favorite destinations included Switzerland, Scotland, the British Isles, Germany, and trans-Atlantic cruises. In 2013 they relocated to The Reserve on Walnut Creek in Urbandale, IA to be closer to their daughter, Leslie, their grandchildren, and their great-grandchildren. Helen is survived by her husband, Rex; daughter Leslie (David) Sheridan; son Rex II (Laura Whitener); two grandchildren Emily Elizabeth Sheridan and Benjamin David Sheridan (Elizabeth Cameron Sheridan); two great-grandchildren, Adler Benjamin Sheridan and Amelia Elizabeth Sheridan; a sister Reba Jean Hunter, and numerous nieces and nephews. Preceding her in death were her parents and siblings: Harold Harvey Beane, Virgil Leslie Beane, Dorothy Mae Hutchinson, Claudine Marie Morrison, Wendell Leroy Beane, and Lyndell Paul Beane. A private family graveside service will be held in the Union Chapel Cemetery at a later date in rural Clarke County. Memorials could be made to the John Stoddard Cancer Center in Des Moines or Every Step Hospice.