Geri Lynn (Helm) McCorkle
PHOENIX – Geri Lynn McCorkle (nee Helm) - a wonderful and much loved wife, mother, grandmother and sister passed away peacefully at her Phoenix home Oct. 12, 2018. In her chosen field of physical therapy she had a positive and lasting effect on hundreds of patients and coworkers, many of whom have remained close friends to this day. She approached all things in her life with kindness, patience and a close but private relationship with God.
Geri was born to Walter “Jerry” and Burnette Helm March 20, 1954 in Red Lake Falls, MN, the third of eight girls. She graduated from Lafayette High School and attended St. Mary’s College where she earned an Associate’s Degree in Physical Therapy. Following a stint in the US Army, she moved west to Arizona in the 1970s where she started a family and began a career in health care and physical therapy that would span the next four decades until her retirement from St Joseph’s Hospital in 2016. In 1989, she met local musician Tim McCorkle and the two were married the following year on May 6, 1990. Together they established a home in west Phoenix and raised Geri’s three children (by her first husband, Peter Slater), Stephanie, Thomas James (TJ) and Lindsay. More recently, she treasured her time with her two grandchildren, Vanessa and Christaphor.
Geri was warm and caring, the quintessential mother hen, ready with a hug and always checking on the ones she loved. She had a wry Midwestern sense of humor and knew how to tell a story. She was also a wizard in the kitchen, a wonderful cook known for the regional recipes of her Minnesota childhood or her Christmas smoked turkey tamales and scrumptious carrot cake. She will be greatly missed by all who loved and cherished her.
Geri was preceded in death by mother and father, both of Red Lake Falls, Minnesota, and sisters Peggy Megner and Sandy Huot also of Red Lake Falls. She is survived by her husband Tim, daughters Stephanie Lynn Rasta and Lindsay Kay Slater, son Thomas James Slater, grandchildren Christaphor Wayne Rasta, Jr., and Vanessa Hope Ponticelli, sisters Marie Burton of Joliet MT, Julie Petersen of Ramsey MN, Ruth (Wayne) Raymond of Rhinelander WI, Kathy (Lee) Wold of Red Lake Falls MN and Debbie (Robert) Brooke of Silsby TX, and her many nieces and nephews. A celebration of Geri’s life will be held for friends and family. For information, contact through email timothymccorkle@yahoo.com.
In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made in Geri’s name to Camp with a Ramp, Neuro and Brain Foundation, 6840 E Brown Rd, Ste 104, Mesa AZ 85207 or PayPal campwitharamp.org. Tax Id 81-2518553.