Helen Kuhn Obituary

Helen Marie Kuhn

Helen Marie (Long) Kuhn [aka Helen "Sandy" Decker], 84, a lifelong resident of Tiffin, passed away surrounded by her loved ones Wednesday, November 26, 2025, at Autumnwood Care Center, where she lived for the last three years.

Helen Marie Long was born in Tiffin, April 29, 1941. She was the only child from the marriage of John Harold "Shorty" Long and Elizabeth Jane "Betty" Decker. Helen has 11 half siblings from her father's other marriages. Helen was raised by her maternal grandmother, Leora (Huth) Decker, after the sudden death of her mother, Betty, when Helen was just three years old. Her grandmother unofficially renamed Helen Long, Helen "Sandy" Decker. Helen went through school and was even married as Helen "Sandy" Decker, which created a legal nightmare later in life when the fact that the name change was never official came out at her father's death.

Helen was a 1959 Calvert High School graduate, where she met her husband, Kenneth John "Kenny" Kuhn, a 1956 Calvert Alumnus who was also the only child of his parents, William P. and Lucille K. (Dell) Kuhn. The couple announced their engagement during her senior year while Kenny was employed at A & P Grocery Store and in the Army Reserve. Helen was one of four girls engaged at Calvert during her senior year, but back then the nuns wouldn't allow the girls to wear their engagement rings at school. Not being able to wear his ring didn't stop the lifelong love she had for Kenny. The couple married at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Tiffin, September 12, 1959, right after her graduation, and Kenny was still the love of her life when they celebrated their 66th Wedding Anniversary this year at Autumnwood, just 10 days before Kenny passed.

Helen is survived by four children, Dwight (Cynthia) Kuhn of Taylor, Michigan, Annette (Gregory) Covert of Bloomville, Douglas (Linda) Kuhn and Kimberly (Timothy) Feasel, all of Tiffin; nine grandchildren, Desireah Kuhn of Taylor, Michigan, Aaron Kuhn, of Dearborn Heights, Michigan, Brittany (Timothy) Breyman, Sherwood, Seth Covert, Bloomville, Nicole (Zachary) Mitchell, Natalie (Jacob) Wiese, Joshua (Sara) Kuhn, Derek (Brandy) Porter, and Levi Feasel, all of Tiffin; 10 great-grandchildren, Isak Kuhn, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, Alessandra, Adalyn and Ariana Ryan, Cheyanne Olivia (Miller) Nicolia and Violett Miller, all of Taylor, Michigan; Ava and Lilly Breyman, Sherwood, and Cooper Kuhn and Braylie Porter of Tiffin; plus 13 additional stepgreat and stepgreat-great grandchildren; two half brothers and a half sister.

Helen was preceded in death by her parents; her grandmother; seven half sisters; a half brother, John Harold Long Jr. of Tiffin; a son; and her husband, Kenny Kuhn, who passed just two months and four days before her.

Helen worked with her husband cleaning the Betty Jane Center for 17 years and she worked 28 years for the School of Opportunity. She started as a bus driver in 1972 and worked as an assistant in the kitchen for a few years. In 1984, she gave up bus driving to run the kitchen, which she did until her retirement in 2000. After her retirement, Helen worked as a volunteer at Tiffin Ecumenical Sharing Kitchen until 2007.

Helen loved to travel and visited much of the U.S., including Hawaii, with her husband. In recent years, she went to New York City on a girls' trip with the women of her family and enjoyed taking trips with the seniors to casinos in Detroit and Toledo. Helen was a Red Hat Lady who loved playing cards with friends and volunteering, especially if it involved cooking. Helen was an avid Barbie Doll collector. She had amassed an extensive collection, including holiday Barbies and special Barbies such as Gone with the Wind, My Fair Lady, and Twilight. Her collection was so large that she had additional space built on their home and still could not display all of them at once. She also loved decorating her home for every season and holiday and feeding the local wildlife.

Helen was a lifelong member of St. Mary Catholic Church, and she will be buried in the parish cemetery beside her son and Kenny.

Friends may visit with family from 10-11:30 a.m. Saturday, December 6, 2025, at Hoffmann-Gottfried Mack Funeral Home, 236 S. Washington St., Tiffin, (419) 447-2424. Her funeral will begin at 11:30 a.m. at the funeral home, with Deacon Richard Gaietto officiating.

Memorials may be made to St. Mary Catholic Church or Alzheimer's Association.

Condolences may be sent and guestbook signed at www.hgmackfuneralhome.com.