Helen Orton McKown Vera

Helen Orton McKown Vera was born on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1929, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, to Dave and Florence McKown. She went home to be with the Lord on March 12, 2026.

Helen was raised in a Christian home, the only girl in a house full of boys, and was active with her family at Wesley United Methodist Church. She was deeply involved in Camp Fire Girls, remaining active through high school and organizing a new group each year while in college. She had a lifelong love of summer camp, attending and later working at Camp Cimarron in Oklahoma, Camp Namanu in Oregon, Camp Adahi in Pennsylvania, and Camp Kiwanis in Massachusetts. She shared that love of camp with her three children.

Helen graduated from Classen High School in Oklahoma City in 1947. After attending Grinnell College in her freshman year, she earned her Bachelor of Education from the University of Oklahoma in 1951. Helen taught fourth, fifth, and sixth grades in Oklahoma City and Portland, Oregon. Helen remained close to her Wesley and Classen friends and her original Camp Fire Group.

Over Memorial Day weekend in 1959, Helen met Hindrik “Henk” Vera, a Dutch engineer working in Oklahoma City for B.S. & B. Oil Company. When Henk returned shortly afterward to the Netherlands, Helen traveled to Holland to see whether their brief meeting might lead to marriage. It did. They were married on December 30, 1959, in his hometown of Groningen, Netherlands.

During their life together, Helen and Henk lived in The Hague, Netherlands; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Pampa, Texas; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Kingston-upon-Thames, England; and back to Tulsa. In 2018 they moved to Lubbock, Texas.

Helen devoted her life to being a loving mother and a welcoming hostess to people from all walks of life whom she welcomed into her home and prayed for regularly. Her home was always open to visitors from Henk’s business associates to her children’s friends. Her bulletin board—also her prayer list—was filled. Many of her kid’s friends considered her their second mom. She volunteered at the local hospital, served with CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates), taught parenting classes, and counseled scores of people whom God brought into her life. Even during her final weeks on earth, she was able to provide advice and encouragement to the caregivers who had come to care for her.

Her children remember countless days when she took them swimming, picnicking, wading in creeks, or even playing in fountains around Tulsa and Oklahoma City. Helen loved time with her grandchildren and great grandchildren. She traveled to see all of them, played games and read books for hours, and taught many of them to knit.

In her last home at Raider Ranch, she was a regular in the gym and at the walking club. She was also a Welcome Ambassador, a member of the Low Vision group, and hosted a weekly Bible study of special friends in her apartment. At Indiana Ave Baptist Church in Lubbock, she was a Mom to Mom mentor and a much-loved member of the Agape Sunday School class.

Helen is survived by her daughter Florence Ann and husband Mark McVay of Lubbock, Texas; granddaughters Stephanie and husband Josh Jones of Tyler, Texas; and Lauren and husband Brandon Sweeney and great-grandsons Caleb and Titus all of Gilbert, Arizona.She is also survived by her son John Vera and wife Sheri of Norman, Oklahoma; grandson James of Norman; and granddaughter Jennifer of West Lafayette, Indiana.Her daughter Martha and husband David Hightower survives her as well, along with grandsons Paul and wife McKenna, Michael, Johnathan and wife Selah, and Nathan, all of Boise, Idaho.Helen is also survived by her brother Robert McKown and wife Doris of Oklahoma City.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Henk Vera; her parents, David and Florence McKown; and her brothers Ross, George, and Richard McKown.

The family of Helen Orton McKown Vera will honor and celebrate of her life with a memorial service at 11:00am, Saturday, April 11, 2026, at Indiana Baptist Church 9507 Indiana Ave, Lubbock, TX 79423, with Senior Pastor Steve McMeans officiating.

Arrangements were entrusted to Combest Family Funeral Homes and Crematory, Lubbock.