But Him, I Love Most of All

Helen Marie was born in 1926 in Lima, Ohio. By the time she was nine years old, both of her parents had died — her father in 1932, her mother in 1935. She and her sister were taken in by their aunt Alma and uncle Albert, who raised them through the worst of the Great Depression with nothing but love, discipline, and an unshakable faith that things would get better.

Helen found refuge in books. The Lima Public Library became her sanctuary — a place where an orphaned girl could travel the world, live a thousand lives, and believe that her own story was still being written. She read everything she could get her hands on.

Then one day in the hallway of her high school, she tripped a boy named Dick Bradford. On purpose. It was December 6, 1943. They started dating, and within weeks Dick shipped out to fight in World War II. He survived the Battle of the Bulge. His letters home were sometimes stamped "detained while in enemy hands." Helen waited. She never wavered.

Dick came home. They married. On Labor Day weekend in 1948, the entire community in South Bend, Indiana came together to build their house — neighbors, friends, family, all working with their hands. They raised four sons. Helen spent years writing her memoir, capturing a life that spanned from orphanhood to the 21st century. The last line of the book: "I love each of you dearly but him, I love most of all."