Mother of Notre Dame president dies after Omaha accident

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - Authorities say the mother of the University of Notre Dame president has died after a parking lot accident in her hometown of Omaha.

The university in South Bend, Indiana, said 88-year-old Helen Jenkins died early Monday morning at Nebraska Medical Center from injuries suffered Friday. Omaha police say Jenkins was walking in the Westroads shopping center lot when she was bumped by a car and fell, striking her head.

The university says its president, the Rev. John Jenkins, celebrated Mass with his 11 siblings at their mother's bedside before she died. Helen Jenkins' husband, Dr. Harry Jenkins, died in 2004.

John Jenkins will preside Wednesday at his mother's funeral Mass in Omaha. The university says that at his 2005 Notre Dame inauguration, John Jenkins said he looked to his mother for inspiration.