Helen Amelia McSchooler

1944 - 2025

Helen Amelia Berry McSchooler
May 2, 1944 – December 20, 2025

Helen Amelia Berry McSchooler, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, aunt, bus driver, animal rescuer, snack distributor, and lifelong rule-bender-for-good, passed away on Saturday, December 20, 2025. She was 81. 

Helen was born in Indianapolis and spent her early years in New Castle before growing up in Bridgeport. From a young age, while helping raise her four younger siblings she learned responsibility—a role that shaped her deep compassion, patience, and fierce loyalty to family. She loved her brothers and sisters dearly and carried that love throughout her life.

Helen was a 1962 graduate of Ben Davis High School, where she was first chair flute and piccolo player in the marching band and first met Leroy McSchooler—the young man who would change her life. One of her favorite stories to share was marching in the inaugural parade for President John F. Kennedy in Washington, D.C., an experience she spoke of with pride and a sense of wonder. What began as a school connection with Leroy became a lifelong partnership, and together they married and started their forever story.

Always a natural multi-tasker, Helen chose a path centered on marriage, family, and raising children during a time when many women were forging college and career trajectories. Still, she found room to excel beyond the home, dabbling in a sales career where she frequently rose to the top—earning recognition as Indiana’s leading saleswoman more than once, all while never missing a beat at home.

Those who knew Helen best would tell you she genuinely cared about people and always wanted to bring out the best in them. She had a gift for finding the good in everyone—and if there wasn’t much to find, she looked harder. She was known as “fun Aunt Helen” to nieces and nephews, a grandmother who loved being “GRAND” and “GREAT,” and occasionally answered to nicknames like Grandma, MaMaw Helen, Baby Helen, and even “Muggle”—a title she proudly embraced thanks to her love of Harry Potter.

Helen’s sense of humor depended on her audience. She could be gentle, mischievous, sarcastic, or just a little bit risqué—especially as her grandkids got older. She was a jokester, a prankster, and found humor in even the most awkward of moments. She was always willing to break a rule if it made life more interesting —or kinder.

She met the love of her life, Leroy, on a blind date arranged by Leroy’s best friend. Their first date included miniature golf, which somehow worked, and together they built a life full of laughter, family, traditions, and entirely too much food. Helen never wanted anyone to be hungry, bored, or under-snacked.

When it came to telephone calls, you knew you had at least 45 minutes blocked off—and even then, she still wasn’t quite ready to say goodbye. There was always one more thing.

Helen had a lifelong habit of correcting grammar, reminding you to “warsh” your hands, and making Christmas magical—not just through gifts, but by telling you why you needed each one. Gift-giving brought her great joy and Christmas-time was a favorite. She put the Christmas tree up on December 18 (her son Doug’s birthday) and took it down on January 2 (her daughter Daphne’s birthday). She also kept a close eye on Facebook, quietly living through the successes of her children and grandchildren with pride and joy.

For more than 30 years, Helen drove a school bus for Avon Community School Corporation, as well as trained perspective new drivers to obtain their CDL, a role that perfectly matched her heart. She drove the same route her entire career and knew every child by name, often driving second generations. She decorated her bus, especially at Christmas, once earning a local news spotlight for it. She handed out homemade wooden tokens for good behavior, that could be redeemed for prizes and even displayed photos of animals that “boarded” her bus overnight.

Helen ran her bus with firm fairness. She had zero tolerance for nonsense, was not above pulling over to make a point, and famously carried a rubber hose she would whack against the seat to get attention—joking that it “wouldn’t leave any marks.” But beneath that structure was deep empathy. She had an uncanny ability to sense when a child was struggling and made it her mission to give extra care, extra
patience, and often an extra hug. She wanted every bus ride to be the best possible start to a child’s day—and for countless kids, it was. Becoming a grandmother opened an entirely new chapter of joy in Helen’s life. She was the best kind of grandma—the adventurous kind. She planned birthday daytrips where the kids chose everything. She took them on late-night food runs, Blockbuster trips, movie marathons (even subtitled ones), toy store sprees, and spontaneous adventures just to “see what would happen.” She told made-up bedtime stories involving goblins, monsters, and talking rocks—often falling asleep before the story ended. She made pancakes while watching old cartoons and told stories about their first color TV.

She taught her grandchildren how to paint, how to love animals, how to treat people with kindness, and how to enjoy life fully. She always had snacks in her purse, “I’m bored” activities ready, and mac and cheese prepared for events she didn’t even sign up for—just in case. Every Thanksgiving, she gave puzzles and delighted in seeing how fast everyone could finish them. 

Helen found even more love as a great-grandmother to Henrik, Simon, Piper, Aydin, and Sullivan. She adored following their lives, helping when she could, and giving gifts they didn’t know they wanted—but absolutely needed.

Helen loved animals deeply. There always seemed to be a rescue critter, orphaned animal, or wildlife project underway—sometimes more than she could manage. Rabbits multiplied, koi fish were mildly traumatized, and wildlife was always fed. But her heart was always in the right place.

Above all else, Helen believed in kindness—taking care of one another, keeping traditions alive, living life fully, and telling good stories along the way. She also checked the obituaries regularly, just to make sure her name wasn’t there yet.

Helen is survived by her devoted husband, Leroy; her daughter, Daphne (Todd Larson), and her children Nichole (Wes Anderson), Gunnar, Gabrielle, and Griffan, and her great-grandson Henrik, son of Nichole; her son, Doug (Kathy), and his daughters Meghan (Kurt McCallum), mother of Aydin, and Molly (Andrew Wilburn), mother of Simon, Piper, and Sullivan; her siblings Pat Eidson, Jackie Scott, Dean Berry Jr., Don Berry, Debbie Kirk, Diane Detmer, and Denise Berry; and many nieces and nephews who were lucky enough to be loved by her.

A Celebration of Life honoring Helen will be held on Sunday, February 15, 2026, at the Washington Township Pavilion Center, 435 Whipple Ln, Avon, IN 46123. Visitation will begin at 12:30 p.m., followed by the Celebration Service at 1:30 p.m.  Family and friends are invited to gather, share stories, and celebrate a life well lived.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Helen’s honor to local wildlife organizations, or animal rescue groups, Distinguished Young Women of Avon, or the Avon Education Foundation.

And if you’re reading this thinking, “That sounds like Helen”—she’d be pleased. She always wanted to make sure she left a good story behind.