Helen Sue Schreckengost

On September 11, 2026, Helen Sue Schreckengost died at home in Spokane. She was 94. Born in Spokane on October 12, 1931, into a Russian-American household that treated work as a language. She grew up believing that showing up was the first craft. She worked water that never held still. A lock gate chalk mark that never failed outlasted two captains. Colleagues still mention a lock gate chalk mark. She married Edward in 1953. They kept a house that stayed modest when the neighborhood did not. They raised a daughter and two sons through public schools and ordinary weather. After Edward died in 2019, she kept the routines that still made sense: the walk, the garden, the Sunday call. Neighbors remember someone who swept the sidewalk past the property line when weather had been unfair. Mornings were her favorite shift at home. She died in Spokane, on streets that already knew her pace. The work gloves still keep the shape of a grip.