Helen Parker

Waynesville, Helen Parker, passed away on Thursday, October 8, 2009 at Autumn Care. A native of Pittsylvania County, Virginia, she had previously lived in Etowah, NC and moved to Haywood County in 2001. She was the daughter of the late Beverly H. and Mattie Shelton McNeely and was also preceded in death by three brothers, Howard, Alvin, and Willie McNeely. Helen received her Bachelors Degree in Elementary Education from Harrisonburg, Virginia State Teachers College and earned her Masters Degree from the University of Delaware. She began her teaching career in Leesburg, VA, taught for a number of years in Norfolk, VA and went on to teach in Newark, Del., retiring in 1975. She was one of the founding members of the Newark Symphony Association and was an avid bridge player. She also enjoyed gardening and traveling. She was a member of First Presbyterian Church in Newark, Del., and Brevard Davidson River Presbyterian in Brevard, NC. She is survived by two daughters, Sylvia Phillippi and her husband, Jimmy, of Waynesville and Joan P. Smith and her husband, Arthur, of Aiken, SC; one sister, Eleanor Sue Weatherly and her husband, Lloyd, of Etowah, NC; five grandchildren; twelve great-grandchildren; and one great-great grandchild. Funeral services will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 17, 2009 in the Westover Chapel of Wrenn-Yeatts Funeral Home in Danville, VA with Reverend Steven Phillippi officiating. Burial will follow at Highland Burial Park. The family will receive friends from 12:30 p.m. until 1:45 p.m. at the funeral home prior to the service. Memorials may be made to Haywood Regional Medical Center Hospice, 560 Leroy George Drive, Clyde, NC 28721.

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