Former Blair resident Helen M. Coyle, 88, of Missouri Valley, Iowa died Aug. 6, 2001, at Mercy Hospital in Council Bluffs.

A funeral Mass will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, Aug. 10, at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, with interment at 1 p.m. Friday at Pleasant Hill Cemetery in Dunlap. Visitation continues Friday, one hour prior to Mass at the church.

Helen M. (Hawn) Coyle was born March 4, 1913, in rural Woodbine, Iowa, to James and Anna (Burns) Hawn. She attended St. Joseph School in Dunlap and later attended beauty school in Omaha.

While attending school in Omaha, she met her future husband, John Coyle. When he moved to Los Angeles, Calif., she followed him, and on Jan. 20, 1938, they were married in Los Angeles.

During the war years, Mrs. Coyle worked in a bomber plant in the Los Angeles area. She was one of the original “Rosie the Riveters,” and later she worked as a member of the auxiliary military police.

After the war years, she “retired” from working outside the home, and spent her time providing a home for her husband. She developed an interest in needlework, especially embroidery and spent many, many hours doing intricate handwork.

In 1972, the couple returned to Nebraska, moving to Blair. In Blair, they managed the La Quinta Apartments. Later, they moved into Parkview Manor retirement village. When her husband died in 1997, Mrs. Coyle moved to Missouri Valley, and later moved into Longview Care Center, where she resided at the time of her death.

She is survived by her nieces and nephews, and a sister-in-law, Catherine Hord.

In addition to her husband, she was preceded in death by her sisters, Elizabeth Sullivan, Alice Stessman, Mildred McCann, and brother, Henry Hawn and Billy Burns.

Hennessey-Aman Funeral Home in Missouri Valley, Iowa, is in charge of arrangements.