Helen Margaret Ninnis

Lifetime resident of Amador County, Helen Ninnis of Ione, passed away on Tuesday, March 31, 2026, after a seventeen-year battle with cancer. Born in Fiddletown CA on October 18th, 1939, the daughter of Albert and Marjorie Schoonover.

Helen grew up in Fiddletown, attending Oleta School, which was the one room schoolhouse for children from kindergarten to 8th grade. She attended Sutter Creek Union High School, during which time she met Gerry Ninnis and later married in March of 1958.

She worked at the Amador County Courthouse, Jackson CA as a court clerk under the Honorable Judge John Begovich for several years.

Together Helen and Gerry built a new home on the Matulich Ranch in Plymouth CA, where they raised their two children Lance and Gerelyn. They had several businesses during their time together, logging trucks (88 Enterprises) and two sand and gravel plants (Gerry Ninnis Enterprises and Goose Hill Rock). Helen was an excellent bookkeeper and wonderful and loving mother.In the early 90s, Helen found a love for riding her Harley Davison motorcycle with friends and family. She also loved going to new places and sharing new experiences with her friends. And even going with her fear of heights, she went sky diving once! Her love for travel has taken her all over the states and abroad.There are fond memories of her baking and cooking holiday dinners. She loved having her family nearby. She didn’t just love her family, she expanded it. She took people in and made them her own and loved them without hesitation. Helen was the kind of women you don’t come across often. She was strong in a quiet, steady way. The kind of strength that carried everyone else. She had a heart of gold, full of patience, kindness, and a love that never wavered. She was funny, protective, and so deeply caring. There is an emptiness now that words cannot quite explain. A space where her voice, her laughter, her comfort used to be. But even in that loss, there is so much gratitude for her love, her strength, her warmth, and the way she made this world feel a little softer just by being in it.

Helen was preceded in death by her parents, Albert and Marjarie Shoonover and her sisters Nancy Flagg and Cindy Schoonover-Jarzemkoski. She is survived by her children Lance (Rachel) Ninnis of Plymouth and Gerelyn (Mike) Ninnis of Sutter Creek. Grandchildren Jabez (Valerie) Deakin, Albert Ninnis, Adrian Ninnis. Great grandchildren Layla, Hunter, Evelyn and Madeline. As well as nieces and nephews, Kim (Ciro) Toma, Debbie (Scott) Murray, Tammy Smalldon, Caleb Jarzemkoski and Jacob Jarzemkoski.

Friends and family are invited to attend a funeral service, Saturday, April 18, 2026, 11:00 AM at Daneri Mortuary in Jackson followed by a graveside service at the Fiddletown Cemetery.