2025 Cemetery Walk: Helen Deal Mount

Helen Deal Mount was born and raised in Waterloo, Iowa. She met and married John Reavill Mount in Mount Vernon, Iowa, on July 11, 1937. After their wedding they moved to Warrenville to start their family. John’s family had deep roots here, they owned a hardware store, and his father, Glen Mount, also ran an insurance and real estate business in this wonderful little town.

Two years before John and Helen married, a devastating fire destroyed the first Warrenville Baptist Church in 1935. The church was completely lost, but within a year plans were approved to build a new one, estimated to cost between $20,000 and $25,000. Insurance covered $4,400, pledges raised $8,000, and the rest came from a mortgage. Even though the church treasury held only three cents, construction began that same year. A new site was purchased at Main and Warren Streets for $600, and the cornerstone, a gift from Arthur Beidelman, was laid in December 1937, exactly two years after the fire.

Helen quickly made Warrenville her home, and the Mounts grew their involvement in the community. Glen Mount, John’s father, had contributed so much to the town’s growth, and Helen and John were proud to raise their children here. Their family life was centered around the Baptist Church, where John served first as Financial Secretary and later as Treasurer. With four young children, life was busy, but Helen was grateful to give her time as a Deaconess and as a member of the Board of Christian Education.

By 1949, Sunday School attendance had outgrown the space available in the church’s fellowship room and balcony. With the congregation’s support, they began planning for an educational addition. In 1953, a $30,000 loan was secured through the Baptist Association and Baptist Home Mission, and construction began the following year. The new building was dedicated as the William Wallace Education Building on September 25, 1955.

The Wallace Education Building was a wonderful addition to the church, and it would bring Helen great joy to know that it continues to serve children today. In 1976, the Agape Preschool began using the space when they opened their new program with just six preschoolers. Agape has been such a blessing to the church community, and Agape Preschool has grown a lot over the years, with families from all over the area still trusting their children to receive such a wonderful education there, in the very building Helen worked so hard to create.

After John passed away in 1960 at the young age of 47, Helen moved to Arizona, where she continued her life’s work as a schoolteacher. When she passed away in 1991, she was brought home to Warrenville to be laid to rest.

Vanessa Nelson portraying Helen Mount in our 2025 Cemetery Walk