Helen Letitia Pierce

Missionary, Wife, Mother, and Faithful Servant of Christ
Born in Springfield, Illinois on January 16, 1933, Helen passed away on October 28, 2025 at Bridge Care Suites. Beloved daughter of Lawrence T. Cantrall, Sr. and Ruth Mae (Rider) Cantrall, she married Floyd Edgar Pierce Jr. on June 16, 1951, beginning a lifetime of love and shared ministry.
Helen and Floyd served as missionaries in Brazil from 1961 until their retirement in 1996. After retiring, they returned to Springfield as refocused missionaries with Christian Missions in Many Lands (Spring Lake, NJ). Helen continued to serve her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, by supporting free Bible correspondence courses in English and Portuguese and by encouraging many through prayer and teaching. She worshiped at Grace Bible Chapel in Springfield, where she faithfully supported the life of the church. As a missionary, her focus was on children's ministry and hospitality. She loved to open her home to visitors, to listen, converse, and share the hope of the Gospel. As a result of her ministry with children, when a Christian school was founded in Curitiba, Paraná, it was named after her: "Escola Crista Helen L. Pierce." Helen was dearly loved by friends and acquaintances around the world.
She was preceded in death by her parents Larry and Ruth Cantrall; her brother, Lawrence (Delores) Cantrall, Jr.; her sister, Lorraine Cantrall (Jim) Beatty; and by her husband, Floyd Edgar Pierce Jr.
Helen is survived by her brother David (Peggy) Cantrall ; and by her children, Susan Elaine (Bob) Whigham, Eric Kristin (Jane) Pierce, and Dr. Jonathan Elliott (Mary) Pierce; grandchildren, Jason Chase, Anna (Jason) Slinsky, Michael Pierce, Emily (Chris) Rahlwes, Andrew Pierce (Haleigh Prather), Katie Pierce, Jonathan David (Meghan) Pierce, Laura Anne (Patrick) Ketter, and Claire Pierce (Nate Kearney); great-grandchildren, Taylor and Brenna Chase; Jason and Daniel Slinsky; Johanna Rahlwes; Zoey, Micah, and Ethan Pierce; Jackson Pierce; and Jonathan James Ketter; and beloved foster children in Brazil, Marli, Claudio, and Ivan Quadros, and Roger Nowell.
Visitation will be held at Wilson Park Funeral Home, 200 E. Main Street, Rochester, IL, on Saturday, November 1, 2025, from 10:00-11:00 a.m.
Funeral services will follow at 11:00-11:30, with Reverend David Pierce officiating. Graveside Ceremony will be at Rochester Township Cemetery at 11:30-12:00.
Memorial contributions may be made to Christian Missions in Many Lands/Missionary Fund, PO Box 13, Spring Lake, NJ 07762.
"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." - 2 Timothy 4:7
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