Helen Ann Sturm

Helen Ann (Gengler) Sturm, youngest daughter of George Frederick Gengler and Helen Ann (Swaters) Gengler, was born in Cawker City, Kansas on April 11, 1945.  She departed this life on October 17, 2023 at the young age of 78.

Ann’s family moved to Montrose, Missouri when she was young and she graduated from the Montrose High school, having attended St. Mary’s elementary school. She landed her first job in Kansas City where she met the love of her life and the bane of her existence, Clinton “Butch” Earl Vores. They married on August 31, 1965 and had two children, Beverly Ann (Vores) Zech and Rebecca Jean (Vores) Garcia.  They divorced in 1977, but reunited and separated multiple times until her passing. They moved to Carbondale, Illinois in 1978, where she made life-long friends and started working at Southern Illinois University. In the 1990s she moved to Nakajo, Japan to continue her career for SIU at their Japan campus. When she returned to the United States, she moved to San Antonio, Texas and began her career at VIA Metropolitan Transit, where she worked until she retired in 2012. She was married to and later divorced Earnie Sturm, an employee of VIA Metropolitan Transit.

Preceding Ann in death were her parents; her oldest sister Elizabeth Rotert and her husband John Rotert; her brother James “Jim” Gengler; and her brother-in-law Cecil Cook. She is survived by her children Beverly Ann Zech and her husband Charles E. Zech, and Rebecca Jean Garcia and her husband David Garcia; three grandchildren, Arryn Ann Zech, Taylor Ray Garcia, and David Ray Garcia; sister Alice Cook; and sister-in-law Kathleen A. Kalwei.

One of Ann’s greatest joys was to be in the company of family and friends, where she would play games, tell stories about growing up on the Gengler farm, or just laugh with those close to her. She was an extremely intelligent woman who was quick witted and a master of sarcasm. A fan of Christmas, she would beautifully decorate her home and host Christmas Eve celebrations for her family, which was a much-beloved tradition. She was adventurous and rarely said no to an opportunity to have fun. Ann was a huge lover of animals, especially cats, and near the end of her life she would volunteer at the local humane shelter and play for hours with cats awaiting adoption. She will be greatly missed by her family and friends.

In leiu of flowers please make a donation in Ann's name to the Humane Society of the United States:

Humane Society for Ann Sturm