Helen Duncanson (nee Penny), 101, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, passed away quietly on Friday, November 22, 2019, at 9:15pm. Helen was born on the family farm of several generations near Felicity, Ohio, on August 21, 1918, to Alvin and Clara (nee Hendrixson) Penny, one of six children- three boys: Walter, John Robert, and Philip- and two sisters Mildred and Elizabeth. Helen married Russell G. Duncanson (deceased) on April 13, 1940. She was an outstanding schoolteacher in the Warren County school system for thirty-nine years, where in the early years she coached girls' basketball and later was known for coaching winning spelling bee teams and achievement-test high scorers. Known for her wisdom, impartiality, warmth, practicality, and dignity, Helen with her beloved husband, Russell, were dedicated to their educational profession and loyal members of the United Methodist Church in Maineville, Ohio. Helen was also a vital member of the church choir for years. During her life she witnessed such events as the Spanish flu, the Great Depression, and two world wars. She also experienced the hardship of growing up on a farm in a family that almost always lived on its last dollars. Despite this, she worked her way through college, where she attended and later graduated from Wilmington College. Always eager to learn and better herself, while teaching full-time and raising two daughters (who kept her busy with numerous after-school activities), Helen managed to eventually go on to earn her Master's degree. Helen was well known in the community for her outstanding pie-baking (she made her mincemeat from scratch) and, at Christmas, for her mouthwatering peanut brittle. In fact, she was featured in the Cincinnati Post in March 1981 in an article appropriately named "Best Cooks in Town." After her husband's passing, Helen relocated to Rocklin, California to be near her younger daughter and her family, helping to raise her two grandsons Alexander and Andrew. She also emerged from retirement, agreeing to work in her daughter-and-son-in-law's business, staying there for ten years and eventually retiring at age eighty. While in California, Helen traveled with her family to Hawaii, Alaska, London, and Scotland. Helen was a trooper. In 2010, she survived colon cancer surgery. As Helen said at the time, "The Lord hasn't called me home yet." She is survived by her daughters Karen Rizzo (Mark) and Nancy Dominitz (Ben); her grandchildren: Kelli Ison (deceased), Ryan Rizzo (Hanna), Alexander (Katya), and Andrew Dominitz; and great-grandchildren: Beth Ison and Cameron James Rizzo. Friends will be received Monday, December 2 from 11 AM – 1 PM in the Tufts Schildmeyer Funeral Home, 129 North Riverside Drive, Loveland 45140, where funeral services will follow at 1 PM. Interment Maineville Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Hospice of Cincinnati or to Maineville United Methodist Church.