Nelda "Kay" Helmick

1937 - 2025

Star - Nelda Kay ("Kay") Lawrence was born February 5, 1937 in Stoddard County, Missouri, to Dorothy Rose and Forrest Oneal Lawrence. She entered gracefully into rest on August 24, 2025, surrounded by her children at her home in Star, Idaho.

In 1948, Kay moved with her family from Missouri to Gooding, Idaho, then after a quick trip back to Missouri, settled in Emmett in 1951. On each trip, Kay would ride in the back of a one-ton-truck with her siblings and all their belongings.

Kay was an excellent student and a quick study. She was very proud of the fact that she was top of her class in three schools all in one year and was the only girl in most of her classes! Kay finished her education by graduating from Emmett High School.

After graduation, Kay spent a lot of time cruising town and hanging out at the skating rink in Emmett. It is there that she met her to be husband, Bud. They married in Kooskia, Idaho on July 5, 1955 and had four children: Sheree, Neil, Walter and Shawna.

Bud and Kay raised their children on small ranches in Emmett and then Mayfield, just outside of Boise. When their children were older, they moved into Boise proper and finally settled in Star, Idaho in 1982.

Kay was a strong, independent woman, and was very proud of the career she made for herself at the US Postal Service. Kay started her career handling mail in Boise and retired as the Post Master in Star. She noted that when working in Boise, she handled every piece of mail and spoke to every customer. While working in Star, she was well known for handing out stickers to kids, weighing her customer's growing children on the mail scale, and making lasting relationships with those in the community.

While she was a proud working mother, her true calling was to be a grandmother. Not just to her own grandkids, but their friends and all the kids who spent time with them. She had many "adopted" grandkids. She filled her time attending sporting events, graduations, birthday parties, weddings and any other type of celebration involving those she cared about. She never missed sending a birthday card or the opportunity to make birthday cakes!

Kay loved to travel, especially with her family. She took many trips and enjoyed countless adventures: A school journey to France with her granddaughter Darcy, a grand excursion to Greece to support her grandson Kyle's race in a dirt bike competition, and many trips to Disney Land to ensure each one of her grandkids got to experience the magic. She often adventured back to Missouri to see family, taking her granddaughter Nicole on one special trip. Kay was not one to turn down an opportunity for a road trip, near or far, to support not only her family, but anyone she held dear to her heart, which were many.

Kay loved to cross stitch and made each of her grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, personalized Christmas stockings. She never met a puzzle she didn't want to conquer and, when she finished one, she immediately started on another.

Kay's family was the most important piece of her life. Pictures of her loved ones graced the walls of their home from ceiling to floor and on any shelf or surface that was vacant. Over the years, Bud and Kay opened their door and made a bed for numerous family members who were in need of a place to stay, including seven of their grandchildren.

Kay will be missed by all, and will leave a void that cannot be filled. She was preceded in death by her husband of nearly 70 years, Bud, her parents, Forest and Dorothy Lawrence, her siblings Margie Lawrence Murdock and Dennis (Jack) Lawrence, grandsons Shea Helmick and Michael Harrison. She is survived by her siblings Carol (Jake) Spoor, Jane (Mike) Miller, Joyce (Scott) Cambron, her daughter Sheree (Ric) Coles of Nampa, Idaho, son Neil (Sandy) Helmick of King Hill, Idaho, son Walter Helmick (Cozette) of Sweet, Idaho, and daughter Shawna (Tim) Kubitschek of Boise, Idaho, ten grandchildren and their significant others, 25 great-grandchildren and one great-great grandchild.

The family would like to extend a special thank you to the staff from Terrace Home Health services, Mariah, Ella, Tara, Emily, Michelle, Kennedy and especially Ashlee and Corrine for the dedication, patience, professionalism and care they provided to Grams in her final weeks. Also, a special thanks to Stephanie with White Oak Hospice. You were all a blessing to Grams.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Canyon County Animal Shelter in her memory with a tag line of "feed the cats!"

Services will be held on August 30, 2025 at Potter Funeral Chapel. There will be a private viewing at 10:00am with the service to start at 11:00am. The service will be followed by a burial at the Emmett Cemetery. A reception will be held immediately after, at Elements Kitchen & Bar, 1825 ID-16, in Emmett, from 1:00 pm to 4:00pm.