Helga Burns, 96 of Denton, formerly of Pilot Point, passed away November 29, 2022.  She was born in Karlsruhe Germany in October 1926 to Paul and Maria Czudnochowski.  Helga worked for Luftansa and was a student at Berlitz School of Languages.  In 1946 she met US Army Staff Sergeant Ermon Burns who was stationed in Germany as a horse trooper.  They became engaged in July 1947.  Ermon requested permission to marry which started a long process of background investigation, medical exams and interviews of four character references for both of them.  Helga was approved by the German Police with a Certificate of Good Conduct after being found in no way connected to the Nazis.  The request to marry was approved in August 1948 and on September 25, 1948 Helga married Ermon, first in a registrar's office and then in a Catholic church in Karlsruhe.  Ermon was transferred to Camp Kilmer New Jersey for his end of tour and discharge.  After another medical exam and immunizations for smallpox and typhoid, all verified by the World Health Organization, Helga left Germany and arrived in New York in November 1948.  After Ermon was discharged in December, they moved to the Texas panhandle and in 1951 to Pilot Point.  Helga became a US citizen in December 1952 after passing the exam for knowledge of the US government and Constitution.   She lived in Pilot Point until moving to Denton in 2009.

Helga was preceded in death by her husband Ermon, a daughter Linda, her parents and her brother Egon.  She is survived by a daughter, Elizabeth of Glenwood Springs, Colorado, sons Loyd (Barbara) of Denton and Douglas (Debby) of Denton, 9 grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren.  The family appreciates the loving care provided by Megan and Debby over the years.

A service will be held Monday December 5, 2022, at 10 a.m. in Pilot Point at St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church with burial at St Thomas Catholic Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Alzheimer's Association at https://www.alz.org.