HELEN GERTRUDE MORITZ

born February 9, 1942-August 31, 2026

Helen Gertrude Moritz was born on February 9, 1942 in Chicago, Illinois. She was the only child of James and Anna Moritz. Her father was a U.S. Navy WWII Veteran from 1942-1945. They moved to the Issaquah, Washington area near Cougar Mountain when she was a small child. She went to elementary school, middle school and high school in Issaquah, Washington. She graduated from Issaquah High School around 1960. She was raised a Christian and usually attended Baptist churches. After she graduated high school she attended Vancouver Bible Institute (VBI) in Vancouver, Canada.

Later on she met Carl Boness and they got married on December 30, 1965 at Burien Chapel in Burien, Washington. Carl Boness was a U.S. Army Vietnam veteran from 1960-1963. He also graduated from Seattle Pacific University before he was drafted. Helen Boness did various jobs to help her pay her bills and pay for college, such as housekeeping and homecare work. After Helen married Carl, Helen’s mother Anna Moritz had a heart attack and passed away. Later on Helen went back to school to attend Seattle Pacific University to major in teaching so she could be a kindergarten teacher, but after one year, she had her first child and had to drop out to raise her children.

Helen and Carl had four children over the years: Daniel Boness (Sept. 1967) Tricia Boness (March 1969), Ruth Boness (March 1971) and Tim Boness (Oct. 1975). She lived with her husband Carl first in an apartment near Alki beach, then in Burien, Washington, but also moved with him and their children to Hunters, Washington when her husband Carl got a teaching job at Columbia School from 1969-1970. Then they lived in their small house in Burien until they moved to a larger home in Boulevard Park in 1980. From around 1987 to 2002, Helen and Carl attended Renton Assembly of God. While they lived in their home in Boulevard Park, Helen’s father had been staying in a retirement home for veterans in Hot Springs, South Dakota, but her Uncle Bert informed her that he was having troubles forgetting things or getting lost in the hallways and that he should come and stay with them. Around 1985, when her father Jim Moritz was in his 80’s, he came to live with Helen and Carl in their home in Boulevard Park, and she was his primary caregiver until he passed away in 1988, at the Seattle Veteran's Hospital, when he was 83 years old. They stayed in Boulevard Park until they moved into a Condo in Burien near Normandy Park in 1994, and lived there for 13 years. Then they sold their Condo and rented a home in Des Moines, Washington until they moved into another house in Tukwila and lived there around 2010-2014. Their son Daniel had struggled with the mental illness schizophrenia for many years and had lived in some group homes, but also came back to live with them for most of his life. Helen helped take care of him while she also worked other jobs as a caregiver for agencies like Visiting Nurses, Sea Mar, or Catholic Community Services. Dan passed away while living with them in their house in Tukwila, at Highline Medical Center in July 2014 when he was 46 years old. He died of kidney failure. Over the years Helen also assisted her husband Carl to help many homeless people who stayed in their homes. When they were in their late 70’s, and as her husband Carl was approaching 80 years old, they moved into a Senior Living Apartment called Arrow Head Gardens in White Center, ran by Shag Housing.

They moved to Yardley Arms Apartments in Burien around 2018.

She continued to attend Seattle Open Door Church in Burien with her husband Carl. In March 2023, because of failing health, Helen and Carl moved to Abby Care Adult Family Home in Renton, Washington.

Her husband Carl Boness passed away on October 21, 2023 and is buried at Tahoma National Cemetery in Kent, Washington. She continued to visit Seattle Open Door Church in Burien and sometimes Eden Church in Newcastle with her son Tim Boness. Her son Tim Boness was her Power of Attorney and Beneficiary.

Helen’s daughters, Ruth and Tricia, both got married and had children.

Helen has three grandchildren: her grandson Ryan Torkelson (Dec. 2007), (her daughter Tricia’s son), and her daughter Ruth’s children; granddaughter Julia Madeoy (2007) and grandson Jack Madeoy. (2005)

Helen Boness's health was declining rapidly from April 2026 to August 2026 and was hospitalized several times at Valley Medical Center for multiple medical issues such as lung and urinary tract infections, and kidney and heart conditions. After passing away from heart failure at Valley Medical Center, Renton Washington, she went home to be with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on August 31, 2026. Her remains are buried with her husband Carl Boness at Tahoma National Cemetery, Kent Washington.