Madalena “Helen” Flores Huerta, 89, of Scottsbluff, died Saturday, April 27, 2024, at the Western Nebraska Veterans Home in Scottsbluff. Her Rosary Service will be recited on Tuesday, May 14, 2024, at 10:30 a.m. at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Scottsbluff. Mass will follow at 11:00 a.m. with Fr. Joseph Thambi as Celebrant. Bridgman Funeral Home in Scottsbluff is entrusted with arrangements. It is respectfully requested that in lieu of any flowers, memorials in Helen’s honor be made in care of either the church or the Vets Home. Online condolences may be made by viewing Helen’s memorial page at www.brigmanfuneralhome.com.
Helen was born in Big Spring, Texas on March 28, 1935, to Patricio Flores and Concepción Soto Flores. She was the sixth child in a family of seven siblings that included her older brothers Alfredo, Mundo, Julian, and Santiago (Jim), older sister Maria Flores Sosa and younger sister Erminia (Minnie) Rodriguez Ferreyra. Helen was the baby of the family for many years before her younger sister was born which earned her the nickname “Nena”, meaning baby in Spanish. This became the name she was affectionately called by her family and friends throughout her life. When she started school in Texas, her teachers changed her name to Helen when they could not pronounce her given name of Madalena.
Helen was always proud of her Texas roots and would tell stories, with a hint of a Texas drawl, of her childhood days growing up in Big Spring. She remembered playing on the cotton bales while her family picked cotton and how she would peek through the windows of the local dancehall to watch people dance to Mexican music. This was the beginning of her life-long love of listening and dancing to Mexican music. Helen’s family moved to Scottsbluff in the 1940s to work in the sugar beet fields and the sugar factory. Despite protests from Helen, the family decided not to return to Texas, making Scottsbluff their permanent home. Helen was enrolled in school and attended Roosevelt Elementary School and Scottsbluff Junior High School. She later proudly earned her GED. Helen met the love of her life, Salvador Huerta, in Scottsbluff and they were married on September 30, 1950. However, after only a few months of marriage, Sal was drafted into the army and deployed to Korea. Helen returned to her mother’s home and waited for her soldier to return from the war. Following Sal’s return, their family soon grew with three children, Bea, Gloria, and Sal Jr., who they raised in Scottsbluff. The couple was married for 72 years before Sal’s passing in 2022. Helen was a stay-at-home mom while her children were young. She entered the workforce as a housekeeper before working in various clerical positions. Helen eventually retired from Panhandle Community Services where she was employed as an intake receptionist. Retirement allowed her time to spend on her hobbies which included cooking and gardening. But what Helen loved most was spending time with her family. On weekends, her home served as the meeting point for family and was always filled with grandchildren, her delicious Mexican dishes or her famous fried chicken, Mexican music, a candy drawer that was always filled with treats and lots of laughter. Helen was her happiest then.
Helen was preceded in death by her parents, her beloved husband, her four brothers and two sisters and her two precious infant daughters Cynthia and Bernice. She leaves behind her children, Bea Reyes and her husband Nick of Scottsbluff, NE; Gloria Torres of Gillette, WY; Sal Huerta Jr and his wife Judy of Las Vegas, NV; grandchildren Nicole, Stephan, and Patrick Reyes; DeAnna Hollie; Gabrielle Williams; Amber Cisneros; Cailene and Desi Huerta; Mitch Corder; 12 great-grandchildren and 1 great-great grandchild.
