Wilma Lee (Weeks) Helton was born on May 19, 1931, in Wellington, Texas. She was the second born child of James Lafayette Weeks and Elsie Emily Honey Weeks. Her dad, Lafe, grew cotton as a sharecropper. She was raised on a farm and loved to feel the soft dirt between her toes while she followed her dad behind the plow. She grew up in a home full of love and enjoyed playing outside with her older brother, Larry, and the Weeks double cousins. At a very young age she started cooking for the family, a trait that would become one of her many distinguishing qualities. She attended Wheeler School, and when she was 14 the family moved to California. Finding a hotel during their trip wasn’t necessary since her dad’s truck had a covered trailer that the family slept in. They first settled in Madera then later in Dairyland where she attended school. When she was 15 her mom went to an old fashioned revival at the Assembly of God church in Chowchilla where she gave her life to the Lord. A few nights later Wilma went to the same revival, it was the birthplace of her lifelong commitment to her Lord and Savior. She went on to attend Chowchilla High School making friends at school and church along the way. Early on in life she understood the value of a dollar. With that knowledge, and paired with a passion for shopping, she became skilled in the art of bargaining. When she was 15 she worked at the dime store and bought herself beautiful clothes from her earnings. She met her future husband Jack at church, to be around her more Jack started back up to school. Wilma dated Jack for 9 months then they got engaged. After 9 more months had passed, she told Jack if he was going to drag it on out, she was going to call it off. So, with the permission of their parents they drove off to Reno and got married along with another couple that were close friends. They were married March 7, 1949. When they got back to Chowchilla they moved in with Jack's folks for a short time until they could afford their own place. A few months later they moved to Texas where Jack worked for one of his uncles. On the trip to Texas their suitcase blew off of the top of the car and Wilma lost all of her clothes. She was so sad about meeting Jack's family and not having her pretty wardrobe that she had worked so hard for. She got along well with Jack's uncles, aunts, and cousins, and throughout their marriage they made many trips to visit them. After a few months, Jack got a job offer in South San Francisco where they moved and shortly thereafter their son, Barney, was born October 8, 1950. After a year they moved to Merced and Jack got a job with Oldsmobile and Cadillac. Cindy was born September 15, 1952. Peggy was born March 20, 1958, on Jack's birthday. Wilma enjoyed being a homemaker and mother. She spent most of her time in the kitchen making Jack and the kids their favorite meals and different kinds of desserts. She trained many young ladies how to cook along with her own daughters. Her specialties were Apricot Cobbler, BlackBerry Cobbler, German Chocolate Cake, her famous Lemon Cake, and her Fried Peach and Apricot Pie’s. Wilma taught her children to serve the Lord and that being faithful to Jesus was the most important thing a person could ever do. Wilma was a natural grandma and when each of her 9 grandchildren came along, she formed a special bond with each of them, grandma and friend. She loved deep and with much affection. Grandma Wilma was grandma to many from the West Coast to the East Coast. She was a beloved mother to 3, a cherished grandmother to 9, a loving great-grandma to 29, and a great-great-grandma to 1. She will be missed by all, along with her cheerful hello or “howdy doo dee!” on the phone. What we will remember most is her prayer meetings that touched the throne of God as she called out each beloved name of her family and loved ones to the Lord. She was small in stature but strong and mighty in the Lord. Wilma could do all things through Christ and she did. She has handed down her legacy to her children and their children and the generations to come.

She departed this life on April 17, 2023, one month to the date after her dearly beloved husband passed.

She is survived by 1 baby sister, Shirly Arms

Brother in-law Donal Helton married to Joyce

Brother in-law Bill McDowell married to Debbie

And many nieces and nephews

3 children

Barney Helton married to Ruth

Cindy married to Cliff Burris

Peggy married to David Hilton

9 grandchildren

Barney Helton ll

Cheryl married to Sam Presten

Johnny Helton married to Heather

Jared Burris lll married to Valerie

Benji Burris married to Laura

Miriam married to Jacob Rushing

Priscilla married to Justin Small

Esther married to Eddie Ochoa

David Hilton ll married to Kasey

Great grands

MacKenzie married to Cody Benner

Shay Helton

Whitney married to Shane DeLaRosa

Courtney married to Jacob Williams

Johnny Helton ll married to Meagan

Cheyenne Helton

Olivia Helton

Jack Helton

Emily married to Nathan Roberts

JC Burris IIII married to Brooklyn

Gunner Burris

Grant Burris

Constance married to Bobby Morris

Savannah Burris

Clayton Burris married to Liz

Blake Burris

Abigail Burris

Ava Burris

Elliott Rushing

Mason Rushing

Maverick Rushing

Scarlette Rushing

Warren Small

West Small

Grace Small

Juaquin Ochoa

Laila Hilton

Theodore Hilton

Atticus Hilton

And one great great

Emery DeLaRosa

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