Helen Julia Bayman

Helen Bayman, 95, of St. Joseph, passed away Thursday, July 12, 2007, at Lakeland Regional Medical Center, St. Joseph. Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:00 A.M. on Monday, July 16, 2007 at St. Joseph Catholic Church, 211 Church Street, St. Joseph, with Msgr. Michael Osborn as celebrant. Burial will follow in Resurrection Cemetery. Visitation will be held on Sunday, July 15 from 5-8 P.M., at Kerly-Starks & Menchinger Family Funeral Home, 2650 Niles Road, St. Joseph with a Rosary at 7:30 P.M. Memorials in Helen’s name may be made to Lake Michigan Catholic Schools and Berrien County Cancer Service. Those wishing to send a condolence online may do so at www.starks-menchinger.com. A lifelong resident of St. Joseph, Helen was born February 16, 1912 to Frank & Frances (Wesolowski) Deja at their Washington Avenue farm. They later lived above her father’s gas station in Derby and finally moved to their farm on Niles Avenue next to her sister and brother-in-law, Anna and Harry Anstey. She had an older brother, John of Indianapolis and Sarasota, and two older sisters, Anna (Harry) Anstey and Frances (Harold) Burkhard. She had two younger brothers, Eugene (Helen) Deja and Lawrence (Marian) Deja. Her first job off the farm was at Williams Brothers Box Factory and then worked at many area restaurants including Hyerdal’s, Holly’s Grill, The Brass Rail, The Captain’s Table, The Flagship and Berrien Hills Country Club. On November 25, 1953 she married her husband Kenneth Bayman who preceded her in death in 1994. One of her happiest days was moving into their house on Lake Boulevard with her husband Ken and daughter, Bev (Bayman) Kasun, where she lived for 25 years. She had fond memories of her early life with her son, John Terrence Baldwin, and her beloved cousins, nieces, and nephews from the Anstey, Deja, Burkhard and Pantilla families. In later life, she adored her grandchildren, Sara, Rob, Martha and Jon Kasun, especially playing cards and ball in Lake Bluff Park or at Silver Beach and on their many trips to her favorite place on earth, Pentwater, Michigan where she always wanted to live. She most recently lived in the Whitcomb Retirement Home, Lakeland Continuing Care, and Caretel Inns. She was a lifelong member of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church and a familiar figure in the front row at 12:00 Mass. Helen is survived by her daughter, Beverly Kasun of St. Joseph; grandchildren, Sara Kasun of Ann Arbor, MI, Robert Kasun, Martha Kasun and Jon Kasun of St. Joseph, MI ; and sister-in-law, Helen Deja of Bridgman, MI. Helen is preceded in death by her parents, Frank and Frances Deja; husband, Kenneth Bayman; son, John Baldwin; daughter, Carole Lynn Bayman at birth; brothers, John Deja, Frank Deja, Raymond Deja, Eugene Deja, and Lawrence Deja; and sisters, Anna Anstey and Frances Burkhard.