Vanderford, Helen Elizabeth

Died peacefully in Sacramento on Sunday July 3, 2022, surrounded by a trusted and long-time care-provider, a wonderful hospice nurse, James, and son Michael,. This concluded a gallant, 17-month struggle with bone-marrow cancer. She was grateful for her 91 years of life and strove to live it to the fullest. She had lived largely independently in Sacramento since the 1985 death of her husband of 38 years, Jim Vanderford. She was raised, an only child, in Olivehurst, by her mother Corrie Bussel (Young), and her beloved step-father, Murray Young. She attended Marysville High School through December 1946, when she married Jim. She completed an AA degree in library science from Sacramento City College in 1991 at age 60, after successfully raising 4 children, and while working for many years, including as a library-tech for the State of California.

She was an enthusiastic, life-long learner, a member of the Renaissance Society at Sac State, and an active member of the Unitarian Universalist Society of Sacramento. She had an avid curiosity about the world, and supported her family’s pursuit of education, including the arts. She loved being an active and supportive grandma and great-grandma and enjoyed the frequent visits with all her extended family.  Helen was loved by her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, as well as by the caregivers of this last year, who allowed her to stay in her assisted living apartment with the view of the world outside, (including the American River levee, and its many Sac State students, walkers, runners, and cyclists traveling the ridge; and the many birds at her garden feeder) until she died.

Helen was also a notorious list maker, striving to keep on top of things in her calendar and on strips of paper, right up until her death. She was known to her children as a “telephone operator”, constantly thinking of, and attempting to maintain the relationships between, members of her family. Most importantly, she spent much of her life fervently striving to be independent. Helen ultimately accomplished that, until her illness started seriously stealing abilities from her in 2019.

She is survived by her daughters Dr. Marsha Vanderford (David Carter), of Whidbey Island, WA, and Dr. Paula Vanderford, MD, (Jim Smit) of Portland, OR; son Bruce (Kathy) Vanderford, of West Sacramento; granddaughter Sarah (Matt) Reeder, of Sacramento (great-grandchildren James, Bella, and Camille); granddaughter Sabrina (Dustin) Yates, of West Sacramento (great-grandson Marshall); son Michael (Mary) Vanderford, of Minneapolis, MN; grandson Peter (Tamsin) Vanderford, of Exeter, England (great-grandsons Jonah and Levi); and grandson Paul (Kelley Beamer) Vanderford, of Portland, OR (great-grandchildren Finn and Connor).

A memorial service is being planned for autumn at the Effie Yeaw Nature Center in Carmichael, in coordination with the UUSS ministers. Memorial gifts are encouraged to support the Renaissance Society Special Program Fund (Sacramento State University College of Social Sciences and Interdisciplinary Studies [SSIS]), the Renaissance Society, CSUS, 6000 “J” St., Mail Stop 6074 6074, Sacramento, CA 95819-6074).