Helen Berdine Brott

Helen Berdine Brott, 108, of Marshall, passed away peacefully in her sleep at Maplewood of Marshall on August 8, 2021.

She was born in Indiana on July 28, 1913 to Jacob and Mary (Brown) Rigg, and moved to Tekonsha when she was seven. She attended Tekonsha High School graduating in the class of 1933.

Helen and her high school sweetheart, Graham, were traveling up north with her brother and his wife when Helen decided that wherever they were at 8pm, that’s where she and Graham would stop and get married. They found themselves in St. Johns, MI, and had to spend their wedding eve night sleeping in their car as there was no other place to stay. They were married on September 4, 1937 and lived in Tekonsha for a year before moving to a house on S. Marshall Ave in Marshall where Helen lived for over seventy years.  Graham taught Helen to drive at the racetrack at the fairgrounds in Marshall.

Helen and Graham had one daughter, Sondra, in 1939. When Sondra was old enough to attend school, Helen cleaned houses to make a little extra money while also having the flexibility to stay home if Sondra was sick. Helen also worked as a church custodian and for Marshall Public Schools.

Helen loved tending her gardens and mowed her own lawn up until she was 103.  Her recollections go back as far WWI and the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918 – during which she remembers her father struggled because his children were his main source of farm labor and many of them were sick with the flu that year.  All seven of her siblings also lived long lives; reaching at least ninety years old.  She was the second oldest person in Calhoun County at the time of her passing, and has the distinction of being the oldest person for whom Kempf Family Funeral and Cremation Services has ever provided funeral services.

Helen is survived by her loving daughter, Sondra Carus; granddaughter, Lori Brockman; great-grandson, Shaun (Tiffany) Tallent, great-granddaughter, Shannon (Nick Fuelling) Tallent, and great-great-grandson, Colton Fuld. She was preceded in death by her parents Jacob and Mary Rigg; her husband Graham Brott (1991); all seven siblings; her son-in-law Lloyd Carus; and her grandson-in-law, Scott Brockman.

Cremation has taken place and a graveside service will be held in Riverside Cemetery in Tekonsha on August 18 (Wed) at 1:30pm. Pastor Brandon Crawford will officiate the service. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be given to Oaklawn Hospice, 200 N Madison St, Marshall, MI 49068, https://oaklawnhospital.org/donate/ . Arrangements were entrusted to Kempf Family Funeral and Cremation Services, 723 US Hwy 27 N, Marshall, MI. Please visit https://www.kempffuneralhome.com to view the online obituary, sign the guestbook or leave messages for the family.