Avis de décès de Helen-R. Williams - Nécrologie - MesAieux.com

PETERBOROUGH -- Helen Reynolds Williams, 89, died June 3, 2008, at her home at RiverMead.She was born on June 18, 1918, in Muskegon, Mich., the daughter of Jean Hadden and Edward Storrs Reynolds.Much of her childhood was spent in East Orange, N.J., later Darien, Conn., and she summered in Sturgeon Bay, Door County, Wis., where her grandparents lived. When in high school, her family moved to Rochester, N.Y., where she lived for the next 50 years.She graduated from Colby Junior College in 1939, studying art and art history, and later studying architectural drawing and cooking at Mechanics Institute in Rochester. During World War II, she worked as a draftsman at a naval shipyard in Sturgeon Bay. After the war ended, she continued working as an architectural draftsman for Rochester architects Kaelber and Waasdorp.IN HER LIFE: In 1947, she married George Rafter Williams, a Navy veteran and Rochester attorney, and bore three daughters, Susan, Mary, and Ann. She loved her family and friends and enriched their lives with her playful sense of fun.Throughout her marriage, she was an active volunteer for many different organizations, beginning with the Rochester Museum, where she worked making traveling dioramas for school programs in the 1950s. Highland Hospital, where her father-in-law, Dr. John R. Williams, was chief of medicine, was another of her volunteer interests. She was a member of the Junior League of Rochester, president of Brighton Memorial Library, and a member of the Chatterbox Club, Genesee Valley Club, and Country Club of Rochester. She chaired the Town of Brighton (N.Y.) Sesquicentennial Commission and wrote the town history for that event. A longtime Unitarian, she was an active member of Women's Alliance and chaired the Building Committee for the First Unitarian Church in Rochester, working with architect Louis Kahn.Gardening and painting were both lifelong passions. She was a member of Allyn's Creek Garden Club, and also served as its president. At RiverMead, she chaired the Greenhouse Committee, where she worked to organize the greenhouse, acquire plant materials and developed systems for its ongoing maintenance. Her paintings reflected her horticultural eye as well as her love of landscape.In 1985, she and her husband moved to Tucson, Ariz., where she continued both her gardening and painting interests. She loved the challenge of gardening in a dry climate and learning about new plant materials. Following the death of her husband in 1990, she moved to New Ipswich to be closer to her daughters and grandchildren. Once again, she set about creating a garden, this time a woodland garden in her new home. In New Ipswich, she served on the New Ipswich Conservation Commission, as treasurer of New Ipswich Historical Society, and was a member of Souhegan Country Club. She had lived at RiverMead since 1997.Throughout her life, she was a warm and generous hostess, and an excellent, often adventurous cook. She loved meeting new people, and leaves behind a wide circle of friends, new and old, from all over the country. Her husband, George, predeceased her in 1990, and her sister, Sally, and brother Ted also predeceased her.The family includes her daughters, Susan Reynolds Williams and her husband, Harvey Green, of New Ipswich, Mary Williams McLaughlin and husband Michael, of Bedford, and Ann Williams Chiara and husband Gregory, of Northampton, Mass.; as well as grandchildren John Adams, Hannah and Will McLaughlin, and Lea and Emily Chiara; two great-grandchildren, Will and Clare Adams; and many nieces and nephews.SERVICES: A memorial service is Sunday, June 29, at 3 p.m. at Unitarian Church of Peterborough, Main Street, Peterborough. The Rev. David Robbins will officiate.Memorial donations may be made to Unitarian Church of Peterborough, Main Street, Peterborough 03458; or New Hampshire Historical Society, 30 Park St., Concord 03301. Jellison Funeral Home, Peterborough, is assisting with arrangements.