Helen Marie (Jackson) Jett, age 87, of Salem, Illinois, passed away on Wednesday, June 10, 2026, at Twin Willows Nursing Center in Salem.
Helen was born on March 12, 1939, north of Salem, just south of the junction of Illinois Route 37 and Brubaker Road, in a two-story house at that time. Helen’s Father, Charles Robert Jackson, was born and grew up at the homestead of his parents just about ½ mile east of her birth house. Helen’s Mother, Ethel (Meador) Jackson, was born and grew up one mile east and ¼ mile south of her birth house. Helen’s parents and family moved to a location on the Patoka/Kinmundy blacktop road. Later they moved approximately two miles south/west of Zion school where Helen attended her first three years in a one-room school. When that school closed, Helen joined the Patoka Grade School in grade 4, and Helen and Beryl attended grade school, high school, and college together. They both graduated high school in 1957 and college in 1961 with a Bachelor’s in Education Degree. They were also married in 1961 at Zion Methodist Church, northeast of Salem, and began teaching school in the Fall of 1961. Helen taught second grade for five years in New Baden (She drove from Okawville, where Beryl taught Business Education for five years). In 1966, they were expecting their first child (Randal), and Beryl transferred from Okawville to Salem Community High School, where Beryl taught for 36 years until initial retirement. During these 36 years, Helen and Beryl added five children to the family, and all of them graduated from college. Although Helen was certified to be a teacher during this time, she chose and was able to keep being a stay-at-home mother to raise their children. Helen had developed expertise in Accounting and was able to maintain computerized records at home for a local credit union for 50 years.
She is survived by the love of her life, her husband, Beryl Jett; four of their five children, Steven Charles Jett and wife, Mary Ann of Texas, Sheila Marie (Jett) Friese and husband, Richard, of Kansas, and Susan Renae Purkaple of Missouri; and Anthony James Jett and wife Amy of Oregon; her sisters, Dorothy Kleiboeker of Shattuc and Agnes Gries and husband, Dave, of Collinsville; and grandchildren, Aaron, Caden, Evan, Ryan, Kevin, Nathan, Brian, and Hannah.
Helen was preceded in death by her parents, Charles and Ethel Jackson; her son, Randal Jett; her siblings, Norma Sue Jackson, Robert Lee Jackson, and Betty Sullens; and son-in-law, Thomas Purkaple.
Funeral services for Helen Marie Jett will be held at 11:00 am on Tuesday, June 16, 2026, at Crouse Funeral Home in Salem with Pastor Christopher Spenner officiating. Visitation will be held from 9:30 until the time of the service at the funeral home. Interment will follow at Paradise Cemetery in Salem. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to the First Baptist Church in Salem to benefit the children’s department, where Helen taught three-year-old children for many years. Online condolences can be left at www.CrouseFH.com
