Helga E. Harris

June 5, 1937 - October 17, 2021

Helga E. Harris, age 84, of Grove, OK, passed away peacefully at her home on Sunday, October 17, 2021, after a long illness.   Helga was born on June 5, 1937, to Karl and Emmi von der Helm in Frankfurt, Germany, where she grew up and graduated from high school.  As a child, she recalled living through the bombings of WWII.  In 1965, Helga met Richard Harris, a U.S. soldier that was stationed in Frankfurt and on Dec. 3, 1965, the couple were married.  When Richard retired from the Army, the couple moved to Petersburg, VA. In 1988, the couple moved to Grove, where her daughter and son-in-law, Gabi and Terry Ryan, had opened a German restaurant, Rheingarten, based on Helga’s authentic German recipes.  She enjoyed visiting with all the restaurant patrons and entertaining guests with her stories.  Helga was an outgoing, feisty person who never met a stranger and never lost her thick German accent.    She was preceded in death by her parents, husband, Richard Harris, daughter, Gabi Ryan and son, Dieter Buchstein.  Left to cherish her memory, son-in-law and devoted caretaker, Terry Ryan of Grove; brother, Uwe von der Helm of Frankfurt, Germany, 2 Grandchildren, Kevin Ryan of Broken Arrow, Ok and Kelly Stockton of Ft. Gibson, OK, 7 great grandchildren and 1 great great granddaughter. Private family services are planned at a later date.