Helen M. Portillo, 88, of Galesburg, died at 3:15 a.m. Thursday, December 23, 2021, at the Hawthorne Inn. Helen was born March 10, 1933, in Ft. Madison, Iowa, the daughter of Daniel and Porfida (Reyes) Trancoso. On April 19, 1952, she married Frederico Ramirez, who preceded her in death. In 1959, Helen married Salvador Arguello and then they later divorced.
Helen married Cornelio Portillo on August 4, 1973, in Galesburg. Her love for Cornelio, also known as Papa, never was forgotten even with her struggle with Alzheimer’s Disease. Together, they cherished the time they spent with their children and grandchildren. He preceded her in death on September 6, 2002.
She is survived by two sons, Fred (Carol) Ramirez in Florida and Rick Ramirez of Moline; two daughters, Christine Arguello of Quincy, and Gloria (Kevin) Osborn of Galesburg; two brothers, John (Jesse) Trancoso of Rock Falls and Jesse (Sally) Trancoso of Ft. Madison; a sister, Frances Parlier of Galesburg; six grandchildren and one great-grandchild. She is preceded in death by her parents, two brothers, one sister and daughter-in-law.
Helen worked as a mental health technician for the state of Illinois for over 34 years including the Galesburg Research and Zeller Mental Health Center. Her intent after retiring from the state was to work part-time for a couple years at Plonka Terrance in Galesburg to keep busy. Her love to work and interact with the clients in this setting turned from a couple of years to well over 10 years.
The family would like to express the greatest appreciation to the staff of the Hawthorne Inn for their compassion, great care and love of our mother. You will forever be in our hearts!
We would also like to give a huge thanks to Western Illinois Manager Home Service and Compassus for helping us on our journey.
Our family wants to thank Marjorie Warner for her unyielding compassion and incredible caring spirit. No one could ask for a better friend to help through some of the worse days of her disease.
Helen is of the Catholic faith and attended Corpus Christi Catholic Church.
Cremation will be accorded in a private memorial service held on Tuesday, December 28, 2021, at Hinchliff-Pearson-West Funeral Directors and Cremation Services Galesburg Chapel. Burial will follow in East Linwood Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice Compassus, St. Jude Children’s Hospital, or the Alzheimer’s Association. Online condolences for the family may be left at www.h-p-w.com.
