Karen Jill (Helm) Petrini, age 76, passed away on Saturday, April 9, 2022 at Soin Medical Center. She was born in St. Petersburg, FL and grew up in Olney, IL. She graduated from East Richland High School in 1963, and graduated from St. Luke’s School of Nursing as a Registered Nurse in 1966 and was also a Learning Disabled Teachers Aide.

She and Arthur B. “Pete” Petrini were married on April 29, 1967 after a whirlwind courtship that was interrupted by Pete’s tour to Vietnam.  Nine days after Pete returned to the states, they were married and left for a posting in Massachusetts and from there to nearly 55 great married years.   

As a military spouse she lived in Otis AFB MA and worked at Falmouth Hospital as a night supervisor. The same hospital where her son John was born and who was the light of her life.  She also lived on RAF Alconbury England, Rancho Cordova CA, and then settled in Beavercreek Ohio in 1983.  After moving to Ohio, Karen’s family came first, so she changed her occupation and became a Real Estate Agent in 1984.  She soon realized that being a Realtor was her passion and the biggest joy from her work was to help buyers find their first homes. She was a realtor for nearly 30 years. 

Jill loved animals, especially her cats Lena, Norman, and Henry.  She loved her yard and the flowers but always was thrilled when the forsythia bloomed in the spring. She was a homebody who loved crossword puzzles, word games and staying in touch with friends.  However, she also loved to travel and visit family, take cruises and especially go to Las Vegas, NV to see her son and his family and drop a few nickels in the video poker machines.  She was a quick-wit who loved to joke and laugh as well as a grammar critic who could not abide bad grammar.

Karen is preceded in death by her parents, John E. Helm, MD and Virgie May (Wescoat) Helm.  Her father was a USAAF doctor assigned to the Don Cesar Hospital. She is survived by her husband, Arthur B. “Pete” Petrini; son, John Arthur Petrini and daughter-in-law, Corey and two beloved grandchildren: Gia Grace and Jonas John of Henderson NV.; stepson, Arthur B. Petrini, Jr., his wife Teresa and special grandson, Jonathan of Sacramento, CA.; brother, John E. Helm Jr. and wife, Helen (deceased) of Quincy Il; sister, Cathy Helm Sanders and husband, John of Shoreline WA; sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Arlene and Phillip Discordia of Saugerties NY;  lifelong friend, Nancy Boccuzzi and husband, Salvatore of Boca Raton FL., as well as many nieces, nephews and their spouses and children.

She is also survived by a group of special friends who made up the “Saturday Night Group” and were her family in Dayton: Ann and Bill Grove, Pam and John Tilton, Charlie and JoAnn Rigano, Bill and Jean Ann Gallagher, David and Marsha Crippen, Bob and Rosie Folck, Jerry and Suellen Wassem, Betty Dunn, and Toni Carey

A Memorial Visitation will be held at Morris Sons Funeral Home, 1771 E. Dorothy Lane, Kettering, on Thursday, April 14, 2022 from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Jill’s name to The Tenth Life Cat Shelter, 2061 Indian Ripple Rd, Xenia, OH 45385 or to the charity of your choice.

Morris Sons Funeral Home, Kettering, OH – April 12, 2022