Helen E. Bomberger

The service will be livestreamed. 

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Helen Bomberger of Goshen, Indiana, passed away on November 21, 2025 after an extended illness. She was 98 years old. Born on August 31, 1927, in Scarborough Township, Ontario, Canada, she grew up during the depression on the family farm that now is within Toronto’s city limits. Although she had to drop out of school to help on the farm, Helen later earned her GED and emigrated to Harrisonburg, VA to attend Eastern Mennonite University. At EMU she met Elton R. Bomberger to whom she married on August 8, 1957.

During their 68 years of marriage, Helen and Elton raised three children and lived in a variety of places, including Harrisonburg, VA, Williamsburg, VA, Corning, NY and Goshen, IN. Their lives were intertwined with the communities they lived and the churches in which they worshiped, providing them with a range of experiences and perspectives, from a tiny country church in the West Virginia mountains, to racial desegregation and the Vietnam war unrest in Williamsburg/William & Mary to the great Corning flood from Hurricane Agnes. Helen’s strong sense of faith led her to meet people “as they are” with love, acceptance and a helping hand. Her move to the Goshen community with Elton afforded them an opportunity to be closer to family while reestablishing friendships from different times during their lives.

Helen was preceded in death by her parents, Ernest and Ina Reesor, and her sister, Erma Reesor. She is survived by a sister, Doris Garber, Wellington, BC, her husband Elton and their three children and spouses – Irv Bomberger (Judi Margolis), Barrington, IL, Rohrer Bomberger (Arloa Bontrager) Goshen, IN, and Mary Beth Schlabach (Rod Schlabach) Goshen, IN. They have 7 grandchildren Ashley Bontrager (Josh Oswald), Myken Bomberger (Suzanne Geary), Reese Bomberger (Allyson Howe), Ellen Schlabach, Sadie Schlabach (Jeff Shoopman), Ian Bomberger (Abbi Hawkins Bomberger) and Biz Bomberger, as well as 5 great grandchildren Cyrus Bontrager, Carson Bomberger, Juniper Oswald, Hayden Bomberger and Tobias Oswald. Helen’s family was her constant delight.

A memorial service will be held at 3:00 PM EST on December 20 at College Mennonite Church. Family visitation will be from 5:00 – 7:00 PM on December 19 at Yoder-Culp Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that contributions in Helen’s memory be sent to the College Mennonite Church Migrant Resource Fund (https://collegemennonite.org/give), as she too was an immigrant, Canadian citizen, US resident and faithful servant to her Lord and Christ.