Helen Elizabeth (Nelson) Symonds Lighty, went to be with her Lord and Savior on Saturday, July 14, 2012 at her home in Ulysses, Kansas, surrounded by her family. She was born July 18, 1932 in Moreland, Iowa, the daughter of Charles Franklin and Ethel Martha (Irwin) Nelson.

Her family moved to Golden, Colorado when she was 12 years old, where she graduated high school. She met and married Don Symonds in Golden. She was widowed within a year. Helen then met and married Clifford “Wayne” Lighty on March 1, 1953, who was stationed with the Air Force in Denver. They moved several times and eventually settled in Ulysses, Kansas on the Ray Lighty farm. Helen was a school bus driver for eighteen years and the bookkeeper and secretary for the Church of God, now known as Patterson Avenue Church of God, from 1963 – 2011.

She is survived by four children; Paulette (Symonds) Borthwick of Rye, Colorado, Ray E. Lighty of Cheyenne, Wyoming, Cheryl Lighty Dreyer of Bartow, Florida, and Clifford W. Lighty Jr. “Joe” of Ulysses Kansas; thirteen grandchildren and twenty-one great-grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren on the way.

She is preceded in death by her parents; and husband, Wayne on February 18, 2002; two brothers, two sisters, and two children.

Celebration service will be held Wednesday, July 18, 2012 at 10:00 AM at Patterson Avenue Church of God with Pastor Earl Heath officiating. Interment will follow at the Ulysses Cemetery. Friends may call Tuesday, July 17, 2012 from 2:00 PM until 8:00 PM at Garnand Funeral Home in Ulysses. Memorial contributions may be given to the Patterson Avenue Church of God Missions in care of Garnand Funeral Home, 405 W. Grant Ave, Ulysses, KS 67880.