For nearly 50 years, Helene Ashker traveled the world teaching women how to be better Christians, wives and mothers.
Ashker, a missionary for the Navigators, a 75-year-old religious organization in Colorado Springs, died of pulmonary fibrosis May 30 in Plano, Texas. She was 80.
A memorial service is planned for 4 p.m. Sunday at Glen Eyrie, Navigators’ headquarters west of Colorado Springs.
“She mentored women on every continent,” said her former boss, Jerry White, retired international president of the Navigators. “She was committed to helping people discover their faith from the Bible, at conferences, in discussion groups and in our written materials,” White said.
White called Ashker a “superb speaker who was challenging,” knew the Bible and even ministered to women in prisons. “She had tremendous compassion,” White said.
Ashker “was direct and never beat around the bush,” said White. “She’d tell me if she disagreed with something. It was very refreshing.”
Many of the Navigators’ 4,700 staff members travel and speak about Christianity in more than 100 countries. Ashker’s specialty was women, always aiming to help them be better Christians.
The Navigators’ castle-like headquarters, used for conferences and retreats, was built by William Jackson Palmer, considered the founder of Colorado Springs.
“She taught them what God requires of us,” said her sister, Vickie Kraft of Dallas. “Some Christians never let Christianity affect their lives.”
Ashker was still speaking to groups a week before she died, her sister said.
“She totally changed my life,” said her niece Helene Kraft of Dallas. “Her advice gave me self-confidence.”
She praised Ashker for “not sitting still” when she saw a need.
Longtime friend Noel Cabell of Parker said Ashker “got calls from women all over the world” who had heard her or heard about her and wanted advice.
She loved her job and once told Cabell, “I can’t believe they’re paying me to do this.”
Ashker wrote two books on women and the Bible: “Jesus Cares for Women” and “Jesus Changes Women.”
Helene Ashker was born Aug. 12, 1929, in Fall River, Mass., and graduated from high school in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Most of her time with the Navigators was in Colorado Springs, but she also spent several years working out of their Seattle office.
In addition to her sister and niece, Ashker is survived by two other nieces, three nephews and several great-nieces and great-nephews.
Virginia Culver: 303-954-1223 or vculver@denverpost.com
