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Helen Rooney

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Birth	:	23 May 1908 Dakota County, Nebraska, USA
Death	:	13 Sep 1928 Homer, Dakota County, Nebraska, USA
Burial	:	Saint Michaels Calvary Cemetery, South Sioux City, Dakota County, USA
Coordinate	:	42.4552994, -96.4503021
Description	:	The Evening State Journal and Lincoln Daily News, Friday, September 14, 1928, pg. 1, col. 8; pg. 4, col. 2 TORNADOES TAKE TEN LIVES Forty Injured By Twisters In Joining States Ten Persons Killed and Property Damage in Nebraska and South Dakota Million. FIVE DIE IN EACH STATE Several of Injured in Serious Condition and May Die---Relief Train Sent Out From Sioux City. ------ SIOUX CITY, Ia. -- Sept. 14. (UP) Ten persons were killed, more than forty were injured and property damage of more than one million dollars was done by two tornados that struck Northeast Nebraska and... Read More	The Evening State Journal and Lincoln Daily News, Friday, September 14, 1928, pg. 1, col. 8; pg. 4, col. 2 TORNADOES TAKE TEN LIVES Forty Injured By Twisters In Joining States Ten Persons Killed and Property Damage in Nebraska and South Dakota Million. FIVE DIE IN EACH STATE Several of Injured in Serious Condition and May Die---Relief Train Sent Out From Sioux City. ------ SIOUX CITY, Ia. -- Sept. 14. (UP) Ten persons were killed, more than forty were injured and property damage of more than one million dollars was done by two tornados that struck Northeast Nebraska and southeast South Dakota late yesterday. Nearly complete reports obtained from here today showed five persons were killed in Nebraska and five in South Dakota by the two storms that swept the country. Several of the forty persons injured were in serious condition today and may die. The complete death list: Nebraska: MARY BELT, ten, Winnebago. HELEN ROONEY, nineteen, of South Sioux City, school teacher of near Homer. ANDREW LARSON, Walthill. THE TWO MONTHS OLD DAUGHTER of Ed Kunzie. FRANK REMECK, of Omaha. South Dakota: DAVE FOLET, sixty-five, Yankton, democratic candidate for sheriff. OSCAR HAUGEN, thirty-six, Yankton farmer. MILDRED SYLLIASEN, twelve, Yankton. MRS. JAKE KRAMER. HER FIVE-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER. Reports from Dakota City placed the damages at that place at between $75,000 and $100,000. The body of Miss Helen Rooney, the young school teacher who was killed near Homer, was found among the ruins of the buildings, the door knob of the school house door, clutched in her hand. She had sent the children home so none of her pupils were injured. What prompted her to remain will be a secret sealed by death, but she evidently had attempted to match her frail strength against the wild forces of the wind. She must have been standing at the door, attempting to hold it shut, when the entire school house was lifted from its foundation and hurled to the ground. +++ The Eagle, South Sioux City, NE, Thursday, September 20, 1928, pg. 1. cols. 1-2 Tornado Sweeps Through Part Dakota and Thurston Counties Five Lives Lost, Many Injured, Homes Destroyed, Ruin Everywhere South Sioux City School Teacher Who Lost Life in Tornado Death of a South Sioux City young lady, Miss Helen Rooney, teacher in the O'Connor school district, east of Homer, was Dakota county's contribution to the death list of of five in a death dealing and destructive tornado which swept over portions of Dakota and Thurston counties on Thursday afternoon of last week, about 4:30 o'clock. Miss Rooney's life was crushed out when the school house in which she was the teacher, was totally demolished against a hillside. Miss Rooney had sent her pupils home and was evidently preparing to leave the school house when the tornado struck. When searchers found her body, about 200 years from the wreckage, the doorknob of the school door was clutched in her hands. It is thought she had attempted to start home as the windstorm started, saw the tornado approaching and rushed back into the school. She lived in the Charles O'Connor home, a short distance from the school. Miss Rooney was born in this community May 23, 1908, and had spent her entire life here. She was a graduate of the South Sioux Cith high school in 1926. She had but recently begun the term of school in the O'Connor district, formerly teaching in the Hubbard school. Surviving Miss Rooney are her mother, Mrs. Bridget Rooney, and a sister, Alyce, a registered nurse, who is employed by a doctor at Granville, Ia. Funeral services for Miss Rooney were held at 9 o'clock on Monday morning in St. Michael's Catholic church, Rev. T. J. Fortune, officiating, and burial was in Calvary cemetery, Sioux City. The seating capacity of St. Michael's church was far out taxed to accomodate the many friends and acquaintances who gathered to pay their last respects to one they had known so long and who was held in the greatest respect by both old and young. "The call came as she was discharging her duties as a county school mistress," said Rev. T. J. Fortune. "She had sent her children home to safety but she had paused to see that the property was cared for for the night. "She grew to useful young womanhood in our midst and we knew her as a splendid example of piety and humility. She held an esteemed position among us because of her diligence and her dignity. As a school girl she studied hard and as soon as she had completed her studies she obtained an appointment and became a successful teacher." Those attending the funeral from afar were: Mrs. S. A. Carroll, Chicago; Mrs. J. Kramer, Mitchell, S. D.; Mr. and Mrs. H. Becker, Alexandria, S. D.; Bob Foley, Bridgewater, S. D.; Wm. Foley, Tom Foley and Mr. and Mrs. Mike Hentges, LeMars, Ia.; Miss Morgan Herfey, Dr. and Mrs. McMannam, Mrs. J. Chritson, Miss Mary Herfey, M. Herfey, Omaha, and Dr. A. L. Fink, Granville, Ia. Lives of the children attending the O'Connor school were undoubtedly saved by Alva Traske, farmer residing in the neighborhood, who at the first ominous signal of the approaching black clouds, hopped into his automobile and rushed to the school. Incidentally, en route he lost a tire, but, undaunted tore along and, arriving at the school, he heaped the youngster into the car and urged Miss Rooney to accompany them. But she told him to go on with the children and that she would remain until it would be possible to reach her boarding place. Traske, knowing there was little time to be wasted by delivering each child to its respective home, drove straight for his house, taking all the youngsters with him. Then the storm came and it was impossible for him to get into communication with the parents until the storm abated, so he kept them at his home until later in the evening. In the meantime panic stricken parents thought their children had been swept away by the tornado. ..... All outbuildings on the farm occupied by Charles O'Connor were wrecked and the residence badly damaged. +++++++++++++ A School Teacher who saved her students from a Tornado. Helen Rooney was a school teacher at O'Connor School on Sept 13, 1928 when a deadly tornado occurred. It destroyed three schools in Thurston County, Nebraska. She had not felt comfortable about the weather that afternoon and had dismissed the children early, remaining to work on the lessons for the following day. The O'Connor school was located on an exposed hilltop and was destroyed by the same tornado that destroyed two other schools in Thurston County. Her body was found outside of the school, against a tree, with the doorknob to the school's door clutched in her hand. This information was from the NOVA program, episode "Killer Tornado of 1928". I am saddened that her grave isn't in our Find A Grave system, as I checked it before entering her into it and I would have thought that a teacher who was killed by that tornado which took many lives that day would have been buried in a somewhat prominent place in one of the cemeteries in Thurston County. She was a single woman, only 19 years of age when she died. I want to Thank Jane Marie Morrison so very much for sending me 2 notes to advise me that Helen Rooney is a relative of hers and is buried in the same cemetery as her parents, sister and brother at Saint Michael's Calvary Cemetery, South Sioux City, Dakota County, Nebraska. It is only fitting that she manage this dear woman's memorial as they are related and she created and manages Helen's parents and siblings. September 11th, 2021 Kathie L. Webb Blair

frequently asked questions (FAQ):

Where is Helen Rooney's memorial?
Helen Rooney's memorial is located at: Saint Michaels Calvary Cemetery, South Sioux City, Dakota County, USA.
When did Helen Rooney death?
Helen Rooney death on 13 Sep 1928 in Homer, Dakota County, Nebraska, USA
Where are the coordinates of the Helen Rooney's memorial?
Latitude: 42.4552994
Longitude: -96.4503021

Family Members:

Parent

Henry John Rooney

(1862 - 1925)

Bridget “Bridie” Monahan Rooney

(1867 - 1953)

Siblings

Paul Rooney

(1905 - 1905)

Flowers:

Nearby Cemetories:

1. Saint Michaels Calvary Cemetery
South Sioux City, Dakota County, USA
Coordinate: 42.4552994, -96.4503021

2. Chief War Eagle Memorial
Sioux City, Woodbury County, USA
Coordinate: 42.4939003, -96.4543991

3. Roost Cemetery
Dakota County, USA
Coordinate: 42.4466900, -96.5023200

4. Dakota City Cemetery
Dakota City, Dakota County, USA
Coordinate: 42.4216500, -96.4143100

5. Boals Family Plot
Dakota City, Dakota County, USA
Coordinate: 42.4345000, -96.5151000

6. Charles Floyd Monument
Sioux City, Woodbury County, USA
Coordinate: 42.4626480, -96.3779330

7. First Brides Grave
Sioux City, Woodbury County, USA
Coordinate: 42.4579500, -96.3756500

8. Saint Thomas Episcopal Church Columbarium
Woodbury County, USA
Coordinate: 42.5031000, -96.4063000

9. Carmelite Monastery
Sioux City, Woodbury County, USA
Coordinate: 42.4579000, -96.3675000

10. Calvary Cemetery
Sioux City, Woodbury County, USA
Coordinate: 42.5205994, -96.4424973

11. Floyd Cemetery
Sioux City, Woodbury County, USA
Coordinate: 42.4968987, -96.3756027

12. Mount Sinai Cemetery
Sioux City, Woodbury County, USA
Coordinate: 42.4943810, -96.3711700

13. Mount Carmel Cemetery
Sioux City, Woodbury County, USA
Coordinate: 42.4956017, -96.3685989

14. Independent Farane Cemetery
Sioux City, Woodbury County, USA
Coordinate: 42.4552600, -96.3500170

15. Graceland Park Cemetery
Sioux City, Woodbury County, USA
Coordinate: 42.4589005, -96.3486023

16. Woodbury Township Cemetery
Sergeant Bluff, Woodbury County, USA
Coordinate: 42.4083800, -96.3570480

17. Logan Park Cemetery
Sioux City, Woodbury County, USA
Coordinate: 42.5377693, -96.4304810

18. Saint Johns Cemetery
Jackson, Dakota County, USA
Coordinate: 42.4706001, -96.5658035

19. Memorial Park Cemetery
Sioux City, Woodbury County, USA
Coordinate: 42.4528008, -96.3261032

20. United Church of Christ Cemetery
Sioux City, Woodbury County, USA
Coordinate: 42.5491900, -96.4041300

21. First Congregational Church of Christ Memorial Ga
Sioux City, Woodbury County, USA
Coordinate: 42.5492800, -96.4035900

22. McCook Cemetery
North Sioux City, Union County, USA
Coordinate: 42.5538460, -96.4886070

23. Taylor Cemetery
Homer, Dakota County, USA
Coordinate: 42.3643990, -96.5205994

24. Taylor Family Plot
Homer, Dakota County, USA
Coordinate: 42.3627500, -96.5198000