Helton

Bill and Barbara Helton, Lawrence, will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary this weekend with family gatherings.

Bill Helton and Barbara Carroll met as students at Wichita State University. After Pearl Harbor, Bill worked for Boeing and then served in the U.S. Army.

They were married March 14, 1943, at the Post Chapel at Fort Leavenworth. They lived in Battle Creek, Mich., where he was stationed until he was sent overseas to the South Pacific. He served as a medic with the military police. After the war, Bill and Barbara moved to Chanute where he took over running the family paint and wallpaper store, which later became the Helton House of Color. He was called to active duty in 1950 because of the Korean War and was discharged in 1951. In 1961, he was offered the position of business manager for the Ashley Clinic in Chanute, and he accepted and sold the paint store. Bill retired from the Ashley Clinic in 1987.

During World War II, Barbara attended special classes at Kansas University and received a certificate in aeronautics. She then worked at Boeing in Wichita supporting the war effort. In Chanute, Barbara worked for the Southeast Kansas Area Center on Aging and was active in social circles. She retired in 1988.

Bill and Barbara were members of the Chanute Country Club and the First United Methodist Church. Bill served as president of the Chanute Kiwanis Club. They moved to Lawrence in 1997.

The couple’s children are Carol and Jim Roberts, Lawrence; Richard and Mechalina Helton, Colorado Springs, Colo.; and Joan and Ken Myers, Lawrence. They have three grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.