Helen Charity Acton

Helen Charity Acton was born in the small town of Volin, South Dakota, on Nov. 27, 1913. She was the fourth child of 10 born to Walter and Florence Campbell. She has one surviving sibling, a sister, Florence, in Huntington Beach, California.

She and her family came to Oregon in 1919 by train. They first settled in Gladstone, Oregon.

Her father, Walter, was a carpenter around the Portland area, so Helen attended grade school there.

While in high school, she stayed with her older sister, Louise, in Astoria. She became friends with a girl across the street, Muriel Acton. Muriel had an older brother, Jack. Helen and Jack married in 1934.

Two children were born to them: a daughter, Helen Irene Sullenger, and a son, Donald Bernard Acton. Irene had one child, a son, Michael Thille, who lives in Redmond, Oregon. Irene now lives in Tygh Valley, Oregon, and Donald in the family home in Svensen, Oregon.

A memorial will be scheduled later.