Helen R. Sommer, 95 of Poneto, passed away on Friday afternoon, March 21, 2025, at Christian Care Retirement Community in Bluffton.
Helen was born on March 20, 1930, in Poneto to Eldon and Catherine (Starr) Carnes. After graduating from Chester Center High School, Helen graduated from Manchester University and took some summer classes at Ball State University. After teaching second grade for two years at Montpelier she was offered a teaching position at Taylor University which she turned down in order to move to Sewickley, Pennsylvania where she obtained her Master of Education from the University of Pittsburgh.
Helen met a young man, while working as head woman’s counselor, at Bethany Camp, on Winona Lake, Indiana. On July 31, 1955, at the Blanche Chapel Church, Helen married that young man, Rev. Daniel G. Sommer (they spent their honeymoon serving as counselors in a Christian Camp in Pennsylvania). Together, they served in the ministry for seventy years.
They started serving at Emmanuel Baptist Church in Pittsboro, Pennsylvania, First Baptist Church in Monongahela, Pennsylvania, and served at Lincoln Baptist Church in Columbus, Ohio for 25 years. At Lincoln, Helen founded and directed Little School in the Prairie, a Christian School, and served as the director of Christian education for the Church. In their retirement they served for nine years at the Liberty Center Baptist Church where Helen was the director of the Jr. Church. After retiring again, they were asked to serve at Keystone Christian Church for six years. Helen and Dan continued to minister at Poneto Baptist Church.
Helen had a tremendous impact on children and young people. Her greatest delight was teaching people to read. She was a substitute teacher in every community she lived in and tutored illiterate adults. But, for Helen, her primary task was to make a warm, loving and comfortable home for her children and husband. She was a great cook. Her pies won first prize at the Ohio State Fair. She gardened and preserved most of the food with which she fed her family. She was a great basketball fan and participated in different sports.
Helen is survived by her husband of almost 70 years, Rev. Daniel G. Sommer of Poneto; and children, Matthew David (Jan) Sommer of Ojai, California and Mary Priscilla (Joshua) Sommer-Rosenthal of Melbourne, Australia. She was a loving grandmother to seven grandchildren; Luke Sommer, Caleb (Alyx) Sommer, Rachel Sommer, Julian Sommer, Somer (Logan) Neubert, Felicia Rosenthal and Lucius Rosenthal; and two great-grandchildren, Emrys and Maddox Neubert.
She is preceded in death by her parents; a son, Daniel Johnathon Sommer; a daughter, Rebecca Ann Wadley; and a brother, Paul Carnes.
Visitation will take place from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., followed by a brief “Goodbye Service” at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 26, 2025, at the Thoma/Rich, Lemler Funeral Home in Bluffton. A public graveside service will take place at 11:30 on Thursday, March 27, 2025, at Alton Cemetery located at Galloway, Ohio. A family memorial celebration of Helen’s life will take place in September.
Memorials may be made in Helen’s memory to the Ponteo Baptist Church and can be directed to the funeral home.
Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to the care of the Lemler family of Thoma/Rich, Lemler Funeral Home in Bluffton. Friends can send condolences online to the family at www.thomarich.com.