Helen Vernetta Aude

Helen Vernetta Aude, age 92, of Mt. Carroll, IL, passed away peacefully at Big Meadows Nursing Home, in Savanna, IL, on March 26, 2025. A private family funeral service will be held, with burial at Oak Hill Cemetery, in Mt. Carroll. A public celebration of life will be held Sunday, July 20, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., at Manny's Pizza, in Savanna. Memorials may be made to Big Meadows Nursing Home.

Helen, or Vernetta as some knew her, was born April 4, 1932, in Mt. Carroll, the daughter of Floyd and Ruth (Livingston) Kehl. She graduated from Mt. Carroll High School with the class of 1950, and later that year, on September 28, she married John Joseph Aude. They began their married life farming together outside of Lanark, IL. Helen then worked as a waitress for the Carroll Café, and later as a dispatcher for the Carroll County Sherrif’s Office. For a number of years, she worked for Wood’s Manufacturing and Eaton Corp., respectively, before working for a time at the Land of Oz. She finished her working years in the cafeteria for the Mt. Carroll, and later, West Carroll, school districts.

Helen loved her home town and the surrounding area, and showed it through her community involvement! She was a member of the Moose Lodge and Women’s Relief Corps, and was a women’s deputy with the Carroll County Fair. She served as the recorder/treasurer for the Royal Neighbors of America, and was an active participant in the Mt. Carroll and West Carroll sports boosters.

Helen loved local sports. She attended many games and events, often proudly watching her grandchildren and great grandchildren, and volunteered as a hostess in the hospitality room for various tournaments. She became friendly with all the area referees, though it never seemed to help her team out as much as she hoped! She was so proud of her community, that she regularly saved newspaper clippings, both of family and others, to keep in admiration. In her retirement years she loved spending her mornings at the “Table of Knowledge” at the Carroll Café, where she and her friends would solve all the world’s problems.

Helen found joy in simple things like crochet, beanie babies, playing cards, and plastic canvas artwork. She loved camping, both in her younger years with John and their family, and later at Timber Lake, where she became a part of the Timber Lake Family, with a permanent site. But most of all, Helen loved her family. She was a loving mother and adored her grandchildren and great grandchildren.

She will be dearly missed by her sons, LaMoine (Sandra) Aude, of Mt. Carroll, and Roger (Loni) Aude, of Thomson, IL; daughters, Diane Daggert, of Mt. Carroll, and Roxanne (Waunita) Aude, of Camanche, IA; seven grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren; and two step grandchildren. Helen is preceded in death by her parents, Floyd and Ruth; husband, John; sister, Virginia (Paul) Penticoff; brother, LaMoine Kehl; one grandchild; and two great grandchildren.