Helen A. Reinkober

Helen A. Reinkober, 87, of Green Bay, passed away peacefully on October 1, 2024, at St. Vincent Hospital in Green Bay, WI. She was born on October 16, 1937 in Chilton to Joseph and Hilda (Franzen) Hoffmann. Helen was born at home in Chilton.

She graduated from St. Agnes Nursing School in 1958 in Fond du Lac as a registered nurse, and with her good friend Carole (Reinkober) Wood had great adventures that included jobs in Fond du Lac, Denver, and at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Green Bay. They shared a red Nash Ambassador, always as roommates and co-workers, until Helen’s marriage to Jim, Carole’s older brother, on December 30, 1961.

Marriage to Jim started with a move to Kenosha, raising their three kids, a three-year stint in England, and wonderful, lifelong friendships made.

Their family grew to include three in-laws and seven grandchildren. When young granddaughter Mollie battled cancer, Helen and Jim uprooted their lives to move to De Pere to care for Mollie’s sisters when needed. Helen became a rock for the girls during this period. After Mollie passed, Helen stayed very close with her grandkids, sharing frequent phone calls and visits.

Helen will be missed for her constant interest in the people in her life. In spite of her chronic pain during the last twelve years, she enjoyed reading, “coaching” the Packers on Sundays, keeping up with current events, and visiting with friends and family on the phone.

She is survived by her husband James Reinkober; a daughter Christine (Don) Brittnacher, Kaukauna, and sons Steven (Beth Bilski) Reinkober, Kenosha, and Michael (Ke Yang Luo) Reinkober, Madison; and grandchildren Heidi Brittnacher, Anna (Roman) Sanders, Noah Reinkober, Ethan Reinkober, Shelby (Brandon) Seth, Crystal Jing; and great-grandchildren Rory, Archer, and Delaney Sanders. Surviving brothers include Donald Hoffmann and Michael (Jan) Hoffmann. Surviving in-laws include Barbara Smits, Carol Wood, Mary Bostwick, Tom (Pam) Reinkober, Paul (Dayle) Reinkober, Katherine Vissers, Mark (Anne) Reinkober, and many nieces and nephews.

Helen was preceded in death by her parents Joseph and Hilda Hoffman, parents-in-law Vincent and Edna Reinkober, granddaughter Mollie Brittnacher, sister Marian Lefeber, brother Peter Hoffmann, and in-laws Jerry Smits, Pat Wood, LeRoy Vissers, Burt Bostwick, Donna and Robert Reinkober, and Jeanette Hoffmann.

Family and friends may gather on Monday, October 7, 2024 at St. Matthew’s Catholic Church, 130 Saint Matthews St., Green Bay, WI from 9:00 am to 10:45 am with a Memorial Mass to follow at 11:00 am, with Reverend Bob Kabat presiding. Burial will be in St. Mary Catholic Cemetery in Kaukauna.  

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to St. Vincent de Paul or St. John's Homeless Shelter, Green Bay.