Support Helen Southern After Tragic Loss

Hello,

My name is Meggen and I'm starting a GoFundMe for my grandmother, Helen Southern. My grandmother has endured yet another unbelievable tragedy and is in need of support.

On Tuesday December 3, 2024, her son, Billy Jo Southern tragically and unexpectedly passed away.

My Nana, Helen Southern, has had to endure what most would consider multiple, unimaginable tragedies in her lifetime, yet always came out stronger on the other side. I admire my Nana's strength; she truly is one of my heroes in life. I hope to only be half as strong as she is! Helen is a caring, giving person who has always loved her family with her whole entire being. No matter what life has thrown at her, she always perseveres. For those who do not know my Nana personally, I will invite and ask you to read just a bit of what she's had to experience thus far in her lifetime.

As I previously stated - Helen would do anything for her family. Helen was blessed with a family of 3 boys (Joseph, Mark and Billy Jo) and a husband (Billy Southern). More than anything, Helen loved being a mother. That's why tragically losing her first-born son, Joseph Southern, in 1989 at the young age of 24 would devastate her. Losing Joe absolutely crushed Helen and the rest of her family. Helen was able to somehow overcome this absolutely soul crushing loss and still cope with life. She spent many years with her two other sons, Mark and Billy Jo. She was blessed even further with many grandchildren throughout the years following Joe's death. Tragedy struck again when my grandpa, Billy Southern, was diagnosed with throat cancer. After this diagnosis, my Nana pulled herself up and completely took over the finances and sole responsibility of caring for her home and husband. My grandpa Bill (Helen's husband), unfortunately passed away in 2003 after a long battle of cancer and the complications that followed.

Most people would not have been able to go on after these events, but luckily, Helen had a great support system by her side and was able to push forward - yet again. I personally know that my father, Mark Southern, helped support my Nana through these tough events and did anything in his power that he could to ease her burdens at the time. Unfortunately, as most of us know - life just seems to not make sense and yet another unfortunate tragedy hit Helen Southern's life. Her 2nd son, Mark Southern would suddenly pass away in 2004 from spine surgery complications - less than one year after losing her husband.

Losing Mark would crush Helen and her entire family, including her other son, Billy Jo. These 3 tragic deaths would affect Helen and Billy Jo for many, many years. They both tried to rationalize and deal with these deaths in their own way but overall, they just tried to make sense of life. Many other events would happen to both of them throughout the years, whether they be good or bad - Helen and Billy Jo always felt like they had each other, through all the trials and tribulations of life. Pouring her love into Billy Jo made Helen have a purpose and reason for living and going forward in life.

And unfortunately, this brings us back to today. Helen got a call on Wednesday, December 4, 2024, that has now changed her life forever. Her last son, her baby boy - was now gone. I write this note with tears in my eyes because I love my Nana so much. She has endured so much in life, and I feel she doesn't deserve any of this pain. I wish I could make it all go away, but I can't. That's why I'm here today - asking for your support.

Sadly, Billy Jo did not have any life insurance benefits so Helen now needs to come up with the funds to retrieve her baby boy from Arizona, cremate him and fly him home to Illinois so he can be buried next to his brothers and his father. My Nana currently lives in Alabama and trying to navigate the arrangements from across the country has been challenging and incredibly exhausting to do - all while grieving her son. If you've made it this far, I thank you from the bottom of my heart and appreciate you taking the time to read this.

As of right now, I do not have any arrangement details to share to celebrate Billy Jo's life but will update as soon as I can.

Meggen Clausen (Southern)