Helen M. Calteaux

(née Hunt), born to Eternal Life peacefully on October 5, 2025, at the age of 87. Loving wife and best friend of the late John A. Calteaux. Cherished mother of Michael (Anne), Margaret, Mary (Kurt) Podlogar, Annie (Tom) Dougherty, and Bill (Julie); Proud Gram to Elizabeth, Alexandra, James, Victoria, Michael, Jeffrey, Catherine, Tripp, Megan, Jack, and Mary Carol; Beloved great-grandmother to Lou, George, Archie, Bo, Tommy, Rowan, Mayla, Molly, Owen, Henry, Flora, Tommy, plus soon-to-be-born baby Fanning, and baby Katz. Further survived by her sister, Marilyn, as well as relatives and friends. Predeceased by her brother William J. Hunt. With boundless love, Helen lived her life devoted to God and her family. Her legacy continues in the lives she shaped, the values she instilled, and the deep bonds she nurtured.

The daughter of Sylvia and William Hunt in Chicago, Illinois, Helen was a patriotic youngster and assisted her parents in sending support to her uncles serving in WWII. She attended Saint Barnabas school and then Christ the King school after moving into the heart of the Beverly neighborhood. While attending the Academy of Our Lady for high school, she took a fortuitous leap to visit Cardinal Stritch College in Milwaukee, Wisconsin which she then attended from 1956 through 1959. She wrote poetry, loved books, and imagined herself being a librarian. At a college dance, Helen caught the eye of John Calteaux, a Marquette University Navy ROTC student. He offered to teach this Chicago Irish girl how to polka and Helen wisely accepted. After their engagement, she taught third grade students at Saint John Fisher School in Chicago.

Helen lost her father early in 1960 and became the wife of U.S. Marine Corps Second Lieutenant Calteaux in June. While serving in California, their first born was welcomed. Upon completion of military service in Virgina, they moved to Bay View, Wisconsin where they faithfully raised five children on Logan Avenue. Helen was actively involved with Saint Veronica Parish, serving as a substitute teacher at the parish school and at other nearby Catholic schools sharing her love of God and books. Her parish involvement included being the first woman to read from scripture as a Lector at mass. She made life-long friends while participating in parish life, especially with the women who joined her in forming the "Hundred Dollar Club" which met monthly and raised funds for the school. For many decades the group continued to regularly gather for companionship and even in recent years these women would make time for festive reunions.

Helen's appetite for education compelled her to return to Cardinal Stritch College to earn her degree in education. Her children recall with pride her 1976 graduation and understood "the bar" was set high for learning. She studied within a house of five active children, sometimes concealing herself in the bathroom to read a textbook. With that degree, her vocation turned to teaching high school English classes at Saint Mary's Academy where her daughters attended. Helen was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 1981 and with the help of a cane, continued teaching at SMA for a few more years. She made it a point to stand up and dance at each of her children's weddings in the 1980s/90s and was a stunningly elegant mother of the bride/groom. During this time, Helen was an active member of the newly-formed Midwest Chesterton Society and contributed essays to their monthly literary publication. Decades later, in 2022, Helen's many years of Chestertonian activity was celebrated during the gala dinner with a standing ovation of 400 attendees at the Society of Gilbert Keith Chesterton annual conference held in Milwaukee.

Helen and John continued their loving romance into retirement, moving to New Berlin in 2008. They most loved spending time with friends and family while enjoying sailboat outings on Lake Michigan, hamburgers and turtle sundaes at Kopp's Frozen Custard stand, or a Friday fish fry paired with a pint of Guiness.

Helen often prayed for those with whom she came in contact, including friends and classmates of her children and grandchildren. She continued to teach, guide and encourage each one to pursue their best. In later years, as mobility became more challenging, her participation in online daily mass became a priority. She found the Bible In A Year podcast to be spiritually uplifting. Helen was always ready to bring her wisdom to bear while discussing literature, poetry, philosophy and faith – conversations were often animated with the help of some Riesling or Baileys.

Helen's family would like to extend a special "thank you" to the entire staff of Comfort Keepers for their exceptional, dignified, compassionate care and friendship.

Relatives and friends are warmly invited to join the family on Saturday, October 18th, at SAINT MARY CATHOLIC FAITH COMMUNITY, 9520 West Forest Home Avenue, Hales Corners, Wisconsin, from 9:30 AM to 10:45 AM, followed by the Mass of Christian Burial at 11:00 AM. Private interment will take place at Holy Cross Cemetery.

Helen was generous and thoughtful in her charitable giving. Memorial donations to the Sisters of Saint Francis of Assisi (lakeosfs.org), Marquette University (marquette.edu), or Saint Mary of Hales Corners (stmaryhc.org) are appreciated.