Helen Dietz Pickering

Sept. 21, 1926 - Feb. 23, 2017

Helen was born in San Francisco, grew up in Mill Valley and walked across the Golden Gate Bridge on Opening Day (May 23, 1937) wearing a tasseled gaucho hat. She graduated from Tamalpais High and Stanford University where she met Joseph Pickering on a blind date arranged by Shirley Sneath (Kelley) and Rye Kelley.

She gave Joe her heart - the largest, purest heart imaginable, caring for all people, creatures and plants in need – and Joe gave her his in marriage on September 5, 1948.

Helen was an old fashioned “modern woman”: **A loving, faithful wife. **A loving mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. **A great cook and homemaker. **Never cursed or took the Lord’s name in vain. **Never received a bill she didn’t pay immediately. **Only spoke ill of three people in 70+ years - Richard Nixon, George W Bush and Donald J Trump. **A lifelong, proud progressive, she staunchly defended the Bill of Rights (with some reservations about the Second Amendment). **An inveterate Market Street marcher leading the Mill Valley American Legion Post #284 Band at age 9 in her majorette uniform, followed by Planned Parenthood/ Choice (twice), Anti-Viet Nam War and Gay Parades. **Journalist – editor of the Tam News; 2nd female editor of the Stanford Daily; 1rst Food Editor of the Palo Alto Weekly. **Volunteer – Stanford Alumni Board; Allied Arts Guild-Woodside Atherton Auxiliary; Planned Parenthood; Appalshop Advisory Board; TahoeBaikal Institute. **Politician – Pete McCloskey for Congress (election and reelection campaigns and Palo Alto Field Director); Joe Pickering for School Board; Santa Clara County Valley Coalition. **Athlete – swimmer, water skier (one ski jump start!), tennis. **In addition to her pure heart, Helen had an unerring sense of what’s right and what’s wrong. She was our ohana’s moral compass.

Helen’s ashes will be commingled with Joe’s and spread at Echo Lake, CA and Puako, HI. A celebratory ho’olewa is planned for the future. Helen was predeceased by her son, is survived by husband Joe, two daughters, and numerous relatives and friends.

Memorials may be made to Planned Parenthood-MarMonte, 1691 The Alameda, San Jose, CA 95126, Pathways Hospice or another progressive non-profit.